


Waiting for the Missing King Pt. 1

by LadyRandomBox



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Anal, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Biting, Blow Jobs, Boy Love, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cock Slut, Crying, Dom/sub, Dom/sub Play, Dominant Ignis Scientia, I Love You, M/M, Nipple Licking, Nipple Play, Older Ignis, Oral Sex, Pillow Talk, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 14:53:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11716656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRandomBox/pseuds/LadyRandomBox
Summary: It has been 10 years since Noctis disappeared and the world is in chaos. Now living in Lestallum Ignis is still adjusting to being blind, but is trying to make the best of a bad situation by picking up hunts to help out the hunters. Ignis has picked up a new hunt and discovers that his hunt partner is Gladio who has been away for 3 months without any contact. Hurt and frustrated Ignis tries to pick up the pieces of their relationship when an emergency pops up just before they leave for their hunt. He rushes in all on his own to help, but things do not go as planned. Learning of the dangers Ignis has gotten himself into Gladio and Prompto come to his rescue, but forces of darkness are working against them.





	1. A LONG AWAITED REUNION

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Gladnis story. In it all 3 boys are still working through the events that happened in Altissia and Noctis being taken into the crystal. Because of the events from the past it's difficult for them to be together because it's too painful, but they try their best to get together and stay in contact because they do love each other.
> 
> \- Also this is my first fanfic so it is not perfect, but I tried my best and put a lot of love into this.
> 
> WARNING:  
> There are a lot of emotional scenes and sex
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not have any rights to Final Fantasy XV and I do not make any money off of this story. It is purely a fan fiction.

 

Waiting for instructions Ignis stood by himself in the middle of the new Hunters HQ located in Lestallum. The air in the room was a tad bit dry and stale making him want a glass of water, but at the same time it was as quiet as a morgue. Ever since Ardyn took over and dawn no longer arrived the hunters had their hands full 24/7 leaving the HQ a ghost town most days. Like him hunters drifted in and out from time to time to pick up new assignments and turn in the information they had gathered during their most recent hunts. 

As he waited he couldn’t help but fidget with the sleeves of his white pinstriped shirt anxious for Dave to arrive. He had picked up a hunt over a week ago, but hadn’t been given the details yet. Dave had asked him to rest since he had suffered a few minor injuries from his last hunt. Dave told him that he would call him when he found a proper hunt partner to go with him. This next hunt was said to be dangerous and a little tricky therefore he was not allowed to go on his own, which he respected. He had finally received a call from Dave this morning stating he had found him a partner and to report to HQ this afternoon. He was also informed that his partner would also be coming into town this afternoon. Now that he was healed up and ready to go he found it somewhat difficult to be patient and wait. He enjoyed keeping himself busy at all times so as to keep his mind busy. When he had too much down time his mind often wandered to the people he missed and the issues he had to face on a daily basis. 

As he continued to silently wait in this desolate room the sounds of a sudden downpour reached his ears. The rain had come out of nowhere and the sounds of scurrying feet as people ran to get indoors could be heard throughout this large and vacant room. Despite most people he didn’t mind the rain at all. Instead he found it rather soothing and quite peaceful. A smile crept across his face as it reminded him of days long since past when Noctis was just a child. Noct hated thunderstorms and often found his way to him during these storms even in the middle of the night. During theses times he was more than happy to shelter the little prince in his arms until the storm passed. Despite only being two years apart in age he never looked at Noct as a burden, but someone he treasured and often found joy in comforting. How he missed his prince and king. 

As the sweet and earthy smell of the rain tickled his nose it reminded him of some of his fondest memories of when he could still see and of a rugged tattooed man that he rarely saw, but yearned for on a daily basis. During their road trip days there were more times than he could count of himself and the boys pitching the tent in the rain then quickly rushing inside to dry off. Meals were always a bit tough to make during a rainstorm so he often he relied on Cup Noodles as a fast and easy meal.

Like many nights they would play cards or King’s Knight until someone, usually Noctis, was on the verge of falling asleep. That was their cue that it was time to hunker down for the night in their sleeping bags and get some rest. On many of those dreary and damp rainy nights he often found himself cuddled up close to the man in thought. The earthy smell of the rain mixed with the mans natural scent and sweat often brought peace and comfort to his mind as he listened to the rain pitter patter against the tent canvas as he fell asleep.

With the sound of footsteps coming from the back room his train of thought was broken. By the weight of the steps he could tell it was Talcott. 

“Hey Ignis, I’m sorry for the wait. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll make you some tea. Dave should be here any minute. As you know with daylight completely gone the hunters have been extra busy trying to keep the demons back. Thankfully we have Iris and Aranea to lend us a hand. So I apologize for Dave’s tardiness. He is always running around like a crazy man trying to keep HQ going.”

“That’s quite alright I completely understand. These are dark times and there are simply not enough people to go around.”

“Yes unfortunately. Oh, we recently got a call from Prompto. He said he’d be stopping into HQ tomorrow. He’s coming in all the way from Hammerhead and just finished a hunt.”

“Ah Prompto, how is he doing these days? It’s been a few weeks since he was here last.”

“He seems to be doing fine, well as fine as he can be traveling on hunts all the time. Traveling like that is exhausting, but you know ever since his highness was sucked into the crystal he hasn’t been the same. Is it true he stopped taking photos?”

Sighing Ignis pulled up a nearby chair and sat down.

“Yes he stopped taking them right after Noctis disappeared. He like the rest of us greatly miss his highness and no longer find as much joy in things that we used to. However, I’m afraid due to his closeness with Noct he in particular is feeling rather lonely and therefore throws himself into work to keep his mind busy. As do we all.”

“I can’t imagine how much the three of you miss prince Noctis. You were all so close and loved him so much. I miss him too.”

A sad smile crept across Ignis’s face.

“I can’t speak for the others, but there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of Noctis. I hope and pray that one day soon he will return to us and take back what is his. He was our whole world and the day the crystal took him our worlds came crashing down. I stand to believe that his disappearance is one of the reasons the three of us are often not seen together. It’s much too painful and brings up too many memories of the past. Of course we still keep in touch and care about each other deeply, but without Noct it just isn’t quite the same. Time has healed us some, but the memories will always remain.”

With that they both fell silent sadness coating them like a blanket. After a moment Talcott let out a small sigh and said trying to sound cheerful

“How about I go make that tea.”

“Sounds delightful.”

With that Talcott made his way towards the back room. Alone once more his thoughts began to go back down memory lane, but were interrupted when he heard the front door slam open behind him. The cold wind rushed through the door whistling in his ears bringing a sudden familiar scent. As the rustic yet sweet scent caressed his nose it dawned on him what the scent was and his heart began to flutter recognizing it immediately. He heard the door slam shut just as fast as it had been opened. The room fell silent once again except for the sounds of water dripping off the new comer and their combined breathing. The sounds reverberated off the walls and resonated in his ears. His throat suddenly became as dry as a desert as his pulse continued to race. Turning around slowly in his chair he faced towards the door and quietly asked

“Gladio is that you?”

He could sense a smirk in the mans voice as he answered 

“Hey Iggy! How’d you know it was me?”

Ignis quickly stood up his heart pounding out of his chest. It had been so long since he had been in Gladio’s company that he wasn’t quite sure how to act. He could hear the floorboards squeak beneath Gladio’s weight with every step he took as he walked towards him.

“Just a good guess. Welcome back.”

He said trying to remain composed and calm. Stopping right in front of him Gladio replied.

“Thanks, it’s been awhile hasn’t it?”

“Almost 3 months. I was beginning to wonder if you were still alive.”

“Eh sorry I haven’t called you in awhile I hope you didn’t worry too much. My last hunt took me just outside of Insomnia. It was crawling with demons so I couldn’t talk on the phone or else I would’ve attracted too much attention to myself. I haven’t talked to Iris much lately either, I’ve just been really busy. Anyway, you should know by now that I’m not that easy to knock off.”

Ignis let out a frustrated sigh

“That’s not the point. There are far too many ways you could have contacted me to let me know you were safe. An email, a text, or even a letter passed along would have sufficed. I may not have been able to read it, but I bloody well would have found someone to read it for me. Besides that this was not the only hunt over the course of these past three months that you were on! You had ample opportunities to contact me but you chose not to. Instead I had to rely on other hunters to learn of your whereabouts and your condition.”

Frustrated he crossed his arms and turned away from Gladio.

Gladio could tell he had deeply hurt and worried Ignis so with regret in his voice he replied

“I know Iggy I’m sorry. I’m a big dumb brute and I should have thought of your feelings. You know me I get so focused on the task at hand that sometimes I forget that anything or anyone else exists. I know that’s a lame excuse, but it’s all I’ve got.”

Ignis could feel Gladio’s eyes on his back watching him. After a moment of silence Ignis sighed and said quietly

“You’re not a big dumb brute you just forget what’s most important sometimes. I was really worried.”

Turning Ignis towards him Gladio cupped Ignis’s left cheek and rubbed his thumb along his cheekbone. 

“Again I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

Sighing once again this time less frustrated Ignis leaned his face into Gladiolus’s hand and replied quietly as he unfolded his arms.

“Yes, I’m well aware of your habits. This one in particular I have always found quite charming however, you need to remember that if something happens to you that it affects more than just you. I’ll let it slide this time, but do be more aware of my feelings in the future. It’s difficult enough that we rarely see each other, but I at least usually know that you are safe. In the end you made it back safe and sound and that’s all I could ever ask for. So once again welcome home.”

A tender smile crossed Gladio’s face.

“Thank you Ignis.”

Lowering his lips down to Ignis’ Gladio gave him a tender and warm kiss. Ignis’s heart went into overdrive and his mind felt clouded. It had been almost 3 months since Gladio had last kissed him and it wasn’t until now that he realized just how much he missed these tender kisses. Gladio resting his forehead against his for a moment then replied. 

“It feels good to be back.”

“Forgive me for asking I missed you dearly, but what brings you here?”

Just as Gladio was about to answer Dave and Talcott entered the room with Dave answering. 

“He’s the partner you’ve been waiting for.”

Gladio lowered his hand and stepped away from Ignis slightly. Everyone that knew them was aware that they are a couple, but he and Ignis still liked to keep their intimate moments private.

Talcott placed a cup of tea on the table for Ignis and stated

“Here’s the tea I promised you Ignis just the way you like it.”

“Ah, Thank you Talcott.”

Picking up the tea Ignis blew on it before taking a sip. It was made perfectly with just the right amount of sugar and plenty of cream. Turning to Gladio Talcott greeted him with

“Welcome back Gladiolus. Would you like something to drink as well? You must be hungry and thirsty after traveling so far.”

“Nah I’m good. I’ll just get something at the apartment.”

Turning back to Ignis Gladio added

“Anyway, I’m not just here for the hunt. Tomorrow’s your birthday - I’d never miss your birthday. Prompto should be here by tomorrow morning and we can celebrate your birthday together.” 

A small smile crossed Ignis’s face

“Is it that time of the year already?” 

“We can do whatever you want Iggy. You, me, and Prompto back together again like old times.”

“That sounds marvelous.”

Dave clearing his throat interrupted and said 

“I know you haven’t seen each other in a couple of months, but you can catch up later. I need to debrief you on this hunt and then head out to help a team of hunters so let’s get going. Follow me to the back. You can catch Prompto up to speed tomorrow when he arrives.”

Ignis nodded

“Right. Our apologies. Lead the way.”

Gladio falling into step behind Ignis followed Dave to his office in the back room.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

On their way to their apartment they discussed the details of the hunt. Gladio stating

“Why do we have to do more recon around Insomnia? I was just there. What’s the point? The place is infested with demons because of Ardyn, nothing has changed.”

“It was reported that there was a new appearance of several high ranked demons in the area. Specifically Necromancers. Plus it gives us a chance to see what we’re up against for when Noct returns.”

“I know that’s what Dave said, but what will clearing them out do? More demons will just take their place. It’s pointless.”

“It’s not pointless if it keeps those demons away from civilians. Lestallum is packed with civilians and the hunters including your sister have their hands full. If clearing these demons out helps them in the slightest I will go on this hunt by myself if I must.”

Gladiolus grabbed Ignis’s upper left arm causing Ignis to wince and stop in his tracks.

“The hell you will! There’s no way I’m letting you go somewhere so dangerous by yourself. You know how I feel about you going on hunts in the first place let alone by yourself.”

Ignis let out a frustrated sigh

“Gladio we have had this discussion a thousand times. Just because I’m blind does not mean I am helpless nor am I useless. I must do my part as a servant of the crown as you must.”

“Yeah, but getting yourself nearly killed each time is not the way to fulfill your duties. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve lost weight again or that your left arm is currently injured. Also I never said you were helpless or useless. You are far from that, but you throw yourself into work and overdo it all the time.” 

Ignis frowned and turned away from him remaining silent. Gladio sighed and let go of him.

“I know you want to help Iggy and I know you feel guilty and responsible for what happened to Noct, but that wasn’t your fault. How could we know the crystal was going to absorb him? It wasn’t any of our faults and there was nothing we could do. It’s been 10 years so please stop beating yourself up over it Noct wouldn’t want that. Just like how you don’t like it when I don’t keep in contact with you I don’t like returning and seeing you like this.” 

Ignis let out a small sigh and replied

“I’m fine, I swear to you. I will do my best to take better care of myself, but as I have said before I will do what I can to help out the others even if it means going on hunts. Now lets get going. It is late and we are almost to our home. We can continue this discussion later if you so wish.”

Gladio sighed in defeat and the two began to walk again in silence.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“We’re here.”

Ignis stated as he unlocked the door and walked in. As he closed the door behind Gladio he asked

“Are you hungry? Would you like me to make you something to eat?” 

As he was about to turn around Ignis felt two strong arms wrap around his waist making his heart stop for a second. He could feel Gladio’s hot breath on the back of his neck as he answered

“I’m starving, but not for food.”

Ignis felt a hot kiss on the back of his neck and a hand slip under his shirt sliding up his right side all the way to his nipple pinching it. He shivered as his heart beat out of his chest. Just from one touch from Gladio he was already turned on. Gladio bit his right earlobe and pinched his nip again causing him to audibly let out a small moan. Gladio chuckled and kissed the back of his neck again.

“I can’t wait anymore Iggy. I could barely hold myself back from tearing your clothes off and taking you right then and there when I kissed you at HQ.”

In one swift movement Gladio slipped his other hand under Ignis’s shirt and grasped his left hip ramming Ignis’s backside against his front. Ignis could feel Gladio’s erection grinding against his butt causing Ignis to gasp. 

“Gla..dio not here. Lets go to the bedroom.”

Laughing Gladio replied

“Eh we’ll make it there eventually. For now lets have some fun.”

Encouraged by Ignis’s reaction Gladio moved his hands to Ignis’s front. Carefully he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, reached in and grasped his throbbing member. Grabbing Ignis’s nipple again Gladio pinched it as he jerked Ignis’s cock causing him to pant. Gladio chuckled and rested his chin on Iggy’s shoulder so he could peer down at his prize.

“Wow Iggy you’re this turned on already. My hand is soaked in precum. When was the last time you touched yourself thinking of me?”

Ignis turned as red as an apple and stammered

“W…why must you ask such an embarrassing question.”

Gladio gave Ignis’s dick another jerk causing his back to arch while he grinded against him. 

“Because I want to know how much you missed me while I was gone. That and it’s a turn on to see you flustered. So when was the last time?”

He gave Iggy’s dick a couple of quick strokes again leaving Ignis silent except for the moans leaking out of his mouth. Flustered Ignis finally answered.

“Three days aGO!”

He yelled the last part of the word due to Gladio speeding up his hand movement. Ignis’s whole body was quivering from being wracked in pleasure. He held on tightly to Gladio’s strong arms to keep himself from falling over. He was almost at his limit already. Panting he stated 

“Gl…Glad…io. I’m… go..ing to cum.”

Through heavy breathing Gladio responded

“I’m close too. Ignis put your hands on the wall and spread your legs.”

Ignis did as asked and suddenly felt his pants drop and Gladio thrust his hard dick into him. He gasped and moaned as Gladio slammed repeatedly into him gripping onto his hips. Tears formed in his eyes, but he felt like he was on cloud 9. His head and body swimming with pleasure lost in a haze. Gladio’s dick was so hot he felt like he was going to melt, but it felt amazing. He loved everything about Gladio from his rock hard abs to his outdoorsy smell, to his beautiful smile and mind. He also was fully appreciative of his giant dick, which was currently rubbing into the deepest parts of him. How he had missed this man. Gladio let out a little laugh 

“Ignis you’re taking me all in I’m balls deep inside you.”

Ignis blushed further, but couldn’t come up with a retort due to his state of mind. However he did manage to get out

“Gladio…faster.”

Gladio laughed and then gently kissed the back of Ignis’s neck

“As you wish.”

Gladio kicked it into high gear making Ignis’s mind go blank. All he felt was pleasure. He suddenly felt Gladio reach around his front and begin to jerk him off again. He gasped and could barely hold himself up anymore, his knees becoming weak.

“Too much…don’t do…both at…the same time. I’m going to…come.”

“Then come.”

A moment after saying this he felt pressure swelling in his dick and was finally brought over the edge and came. Soon afterwards he felt white-hot liquid release in his ass signaling Gladio had cum as well. No more strength left Ignis began to crumple to his knees, but Gladio caught him against his chest. Carefully lowering them both to their knees. Gladio rested his head on Ignis’s back both trying to catch their breath. After a moment Ignis felt Gladio start to pull out, but he grabbed Gladio’s hand and said

“Please stay like this just a little longer.”

He had missed Gladio so much that he just wanted to feel his hot sweaty body pressed up against him a little longer. He truly treasured these moments they had together. Gladio made a quiet noise of recognition and wrapped his arms around Ignis’s waist and spooned him. 

After a couple of minutes Gladio softly called out Ignis’s name causing him to look over his shoulder. Gladio gently grabbed Iggy’s face and pulled him into a sweet tender kiss. Upon parting Gladio pulled out causing Ignis to let out a small moan. Ignis turned and faced Gladio feeling the cum begin to leak out of his ass. Looking at Iggy Gladio stated 

“Wow Iggy, you came hard and fast. You really released a lot! I guess I did too after looking at what’s coming out of you.” 

Ignis turned a deep shade of red causing Gladio to laugh deeply.

“Yes you made a mess of me, but that’s no surprise. And again why must you say such embarrassing things? Do you really enjoy seeing me this flustered? I told you it’s been awhile.”

Gladio laughed some more and finally said

“Yes I think you are adorable when you’re flustered. You make the best faces.” 

Before Ignis could respond Gladio swept him up into another kiss this one with a little bit more passion behind it rendering Ignis silent. As they parted lips both heavily panting Gladio still holding Iggy’s face rested his forehead against his and whispered.

“I love you Ignis.”

A large grin crossed Ignis’s face and responded

“And I you Gladiolus.”

Gladio kissed Ignis tenderly one more time then surprised him by quickly scooping him up bridal style and saying with a huge grin.

“Let’s take round two to the bed!”

Ignis chuckled and responded

“Have it your way.”

With that Gladio gleefully carried him off to the bedroom anxious to start round two. 


	2. PICKING UP THE PIECES

Ignis gasped awake in a slight panic. It was dark too dark and no matter how many times he blinked the darkness wouldn’t disappear. A cold sweat swept over his body as his heart began to race and his breathing becoming uneven. Tears started streaming down his face as panic set in. Several questions began to pop up in his head

Where am I?! Why is it so dark?! Why can’t I see?! Where is everyone? Is Noctis ok?!

As he jolted up into a sitting position about to jump out of bed he felt two strong arms tightened around his waist. 

“Ignis shh-shh. It’s ok, I’m right here. You’re ok, I’ve got you.”

Realizing it was Gladio he instantly began to calm down taking in deep breaths. Gladio cooed him some more and brought him back down to the bed to rest against him. With his forehead against Gladiolus’s pecs he began to realize where he was. As his breathing began to calm and his head clear he felt a large rough hand cup the side of his face and wipe away a tear. For some reason this made him cry harder causing him to shake. Gladio wrapped his arms around him even tighter and tucked Iggy’s head under his chin. He felt slightly panicked and unsure of what else to do besides hold him. After a moment Ignis calmed down. 

“Iggy talk to me. What’s wrong?”

Ignis sniffled and let out a small laugh.

“I’m sorry to wake and worry you. It’s just to this day I still have a hard time with the darkness every now and then. There are still times like now when I wake up and fall into a panic because I can’t see no matter how hard I try. I feel disoriented and uneasy not understanding why I can’t see or where I am. On the worst occasions I’ll even stumble out of bed searching for a light. It usually takes me a moment to calm down and remember where I am. To remember that I am blind and the darkness is here to stay forever. It still feels like it was just yesterday that I could still see. Having the memories of sight almost feels like a curse at times and makes daily life very difficult when my frustration and despair sets in.

Fortunately for you, you haven’t seen one of these moments in a very long time. Just now when you touched my face I felt so much relief that I couldn’t contain my tears. I missed you so unbearably much and knowing you are here sent me over the edge. When I couldn’t reach you over the last 3 months I faced many mornings like this one. Poor Prompto found me a couple of times huddled in the corner of this room hysterical and crying. Bless that boy for being patient and understanding.”

Gladio felt a heavy weight of guilt in his chest. He could feel that Ignis was still shaking and holding onto him for dear life. Small tears came to his own eyes. He kissed Ignis on the forehead and then returned his chin atop Iggy’s head.

“Iggy…I’m so, so sorry. It kills me to know that I’ve caused you so much panic and pain. This whole time I thought your night terrors were gone, but it sounds like they’re just getting worse. I’ve seen many mornings like this and it hurts to know that I haven’t been here to help you through them. I’m sorry if I’m the cause of them getting worse. Forgive me. I wish I could be here for you more often.”

Ignis smiled and kissed Gladio’s chest.

“There’s nothing to forgive. I understand that work gets in the way and it’s difficult to be here for very long. There are just too many memories of the past that resurface when we’re together. This is just a part of my life as it has been for the last 10 years. Thankfully these episodes do not occur nearly as often as they did when I went blind in the beginning. Usually they are few and far between until recently.”

“In the beginning you woke up every morning and sometimes even in the middle of the night in shear panic. It was difficult to watch. I’ve never felt so useless in my life. All I could do was hold you and hope that everything would be alright.”

“In the beginning I also felt useless. My whole life’s purpose was to watch over, advise, and help Noctis, but I could no longer do that. I couldn’t even take care of myself. There were many times when I thought I was going to loose my mind and I tried desperately to hide this from Noct, but I’m afraid I was not entirely successful. If it wasn’t for you and Prompto I might very well have lost my mind. Poor Noct I thought he was going to loose his own mind. With everything that happened in Altissia and losing Luna he now had to deal with me having these episodes quite often. He felt so guilty and apologized endlessly for my blindness especially when he was the one who found me in this state.”

Gladio let out a grunt.

“He sure was good at hiding how he felt though. He moped around like a lost puppy for weeks barely saying a word and always off by himself somewhere. Even Prompto couldn’t get much of a reaction out of him. I wanted to kick his ass several times to straighten him out, but I’ve realized with all the time that has passed that I was too hard on him. I realized that he was just trying to keep it all inside and trying his best just to keep himself together. I’m glad you couldn’t see his face, his eyes looked so lost and dead. ”

“He had so much to process and deal with that I tried my best to down play my injuries. Unfortunately all the stress made him suffer from night terrors as well and caused him many sleepless nights. I often heard him wake up sobbing on many occasions right after the unfortunate events of Altissia. Thankfully Prompto was always by his side and comforted him during those nights.”

Gladio chuckled

“Sometimes he comforted him a little too well. The noises they’d make made it hard to pretend to be asleep.”

Ignis chuckled

“Yes they got quite spirited at times, but I think it was the only way Noctis could release all that tension and stress he had built up. I also believe that Prompto didn’t know what else to do at times and just wanted to busy Noct’s mind with something else other than his problems.”

“Well it worked every time and he did calm him down, well kind of. This reminds me of when we camped and all the noise we had to listen to from our side of the tent.”

“It was even more difficult to ignore in that paper thin tent, but I’m sure they thought the same of us. Even when we tried our best to keep it down I’m afraid we woke them on several occasions. Alone time was quite difficult to come by on our trip.”

“You’re telling me. I had to constantly secretly jump you in the middle of the day for a quickie just to keep myself from tearing you apart at night. ”

Ignis blushed remembering many of those occasions and how often they had sex in the oddest of places. 

“Yes I remember many made up visits to the store or searching for ingredients for that nights meal in the woods. Sometimes you weren’t so secretive and outright told them we needed alone time. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.”

Gladio laughed

“Sometimes being subtle just wasn’t the way to go. They needed their alone time too so why not just say it. We never left them alone for too long so it was fine. Well anyway we couldn’t have asked for a better friend or lover for our boy. Poor Luna never stood a chance.”

Ignis smiled sadly

“Agreed. I don’t know how Prompto has kept it together all these years. I know we are not together often, but if I didn’t have you I truly would fall into the darkness and never return.”

“Same. Prompto plays it off by trying to be up beat and a clown like he always has, but sometimes his mask slips and he falls apart. He keeps a rabbit eared photo of Noct in his pocket at all times.”

“Yes he says it’s his lucky charm. He broke down sobbing once when he thought he lost it. Turns out it was just in another pocket.”

“I’ve caught him staring at in the middle of the night many times. Poor kid always looks so heartbroken. Noct has a lot to make up for, for being gone so long when he returns.”

“That he does. I miss him dearly. I just hope he is ok”

“Me too. I’m sure he’s fine. Even though it’s been 10 years I’m sure he’ll come back to us soon.”

“I hope so.”

They both fell silent for a moment until Ignis asked for the time. After looking at his phone Gladio responded

“It’s a little after 3:30am. Why what’s up?”

Ignis chuckled then surprised Gladio by forcing him to roll onto his back as he mounted him. He placed his hands on Gladio’s hard abs and said with a large grin.

“I was just thinking we might have enough time for another round in the sheets before morning.”

Gladio sat up and gripped Ignis’s ass. Smiling widely he replied

“I love the way you think.”

Ignis wrapped his arms around Gladio’s neck 

“Good. Since we don’t get much time together these days we might as well make the best of what time we do have together.” 

He pulled Gladio into a sultry kiss successfully making Gladio hard. Once their lips parted Gladio smirked 

“You sure know how to turn a guy on.”

Ignis laughed 

“It’s a technique I’ve perfected over the years and my pleasure.” 

A sudden heat overtook them both and all joking was set aside. Gladio began to fervently kiss Ignis’s neck and collar bone leaving little kiss marks. Soon he moved onto his nipples sucking on one while pinching the other. 

Ignis loved when Gladio played with his nipples and couldn’t contain himself and let out little moans as his body began to quake. He could feel his own dick hardening and becoming wet with precum. Gladio pushed him down and began to make a trail of kisses down his belly causing him to quiver more. Once reaching his crotch he began to kiss and bite tenderly on his inner thighs carefully avoiding Ignis’s growing erection. He loved listening to the gasps Ignis made from being overwhelmed with pleasure as he moved closer and closer to his cock. 

Satisfied with Ignis’s reaction he stroked Ignis’s dick causing his back to arch. Knowing Ignis would eventually muffle his voice said

“I wanna hear your voice don’t muffle it. It’s just us no ones going to hear you, but me.”

He then popped Ignis’s dick into his mouth. He started out slow and gradually gained speed. Barely being able to handle the pleasure Ignis gripped Gladio’s hair trying his best not to grip too hard. At that point Gladio inserted a finger into Ignis’s ass making him moan loudly as he moved it around. As Ignis became looser he added two fingers and then three causing Ignis to moan his name and twitch in pleasure.

Ignis felt like he was floating on a cloud drifting away under the sun. His mind was full of Gladio. Feeling that his swelling cock was nearing it’s climax he called out

“Gl…Gladio I want to come… by your dick and not your fingers.” 

“Alright, don’t come just yet.”

Gladio pulled out his fingers and lined his dick up with Ignis’s entrance. Carefully he inserted himself Ignis’s taking him in all the way to the hilt. Ignis could feel Gladio’s eyes on him seeing if he was ok so to encourage him to continue he wrapped his legs around Gladio’s waist pulling him closer. It did just as Ignis wanted and Gladio leaned over him and began to thrust. Wrapping his arms around Gladio’s neck Ignis could feel him thrusting into his deepest regions finally finding his G-spot. Gasping Ignis said

“Right there! Gla..dio right…there.”

Soaked in ecstasy Ignis began to move with him enjoying Gladio’s heat. They both were glistening in sweat and stealing kisses from each other between moans.

“Ignis… you feel so good. You’re so hot inside I can’t get enough of it.”

Gladio began to thrust even harder causing Ignis to arc his back in pleasure. 

“Gladio!!” 

He moaned

Gladio took this opportunity to suck on Ignis’s neck loving the spot next to his jaw. Ignis’s head was in a haze. His entire body was on fire and everywhere Gladio touched made his skin burn and tingle. He couldn’t be happier. 

Sensing Ignis was at his limit Gladio began to jerk him off. Ignis moaned loudly no longer caring how loud he was.

“Gladio I’m…going to come.”

“Me too.”

Ignis kissed Gladio deeply then said

“Let’s come together.”

With one last burst of energy they gave it their all. Suddenly pleasure and heat overwhelmed them both and they came at the same time. Exhausted Gladio fell on top of him both soaked in sweat and cum. While trying to catch their breath they kissed tenderly one more time just before sleep overtook them both.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ignis awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. With Gladio’s arms wrapped tightly around him spooning him it was difficult to reach his phone on the nightstand. Rolling onto his belly he realized Gladio hadn’t pulled out after a surprise round making it even more difficult to reach the phone, but somehow he managed. Groggily he answered

“Hello.”

“Hey Ignis it’s me Prompto! Good morning and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Feeling in a daze Ignis answered.

“Prompto? Is it morning already? What time is it?”

“It’s around 8 o’clock. I’m sorry did I wake you? I’m surprised you’re not awake already. Is Gladio there?”

At the sound of his name Gladio stirred and grumpily said as he buried his face in Ignis’s back

“Tell him he’s too loud and annoying for it being this early.”

Prompto laughed 

“Yup Gladio’s there. Love you too buddy.”

Gladio made an acknowledging noise causing Ignis to chuckle 

“I apologize, as you know Gladio is not much of a morning person. It doesn’t help that we are both utterly exhausted.”

Prompto laughed

“But he’s still not as bad as Noct. We basically had to drag him out of bed.”

Gladio mumbled

“Damn straight.”

Ignis smiled fondly

“Yes he did rather enjoy his beauty sleep.”

They fell silent for a second then Prompto cleared his voice and said

“Well anyway it’s no wonder you’re not awake yet. You love birds hardly ever get to see each other so Gladio probably kept you awake with vigorous sex all night long.”

Ignis turned bright red and in shock yelled

“Prompto Argentum!”

Gladio took the phone from Iggy and with a huge smile said

“Hell yeah I did.”

Prompto burst into laughter dropping his phone. As he picked it up he apologized

“Opps sorry! Anyway I just got into HQ so come on down when you’re ready! I’ll be waiting.”

“Sure. See you soon.”

*click*

Gladio handed the phone back to Ignis and returned to hugging him. Ignis shook his head in disbelief as he set the phone back on the nightstand.

“I can’t believe how bold he has gotten.”

Gladio chuckled and said

“Well he’s almost 30 he’s not a kid anymore.”

A bit flustered Ignis replied

“He gets it from being around you.”

While laughing Gladio replied

“What can I say I raised him right.”

Ignis let out a sigh. 

“I guess it can’t be helped. It could be worse.”

Gladio kissed Ignis’s back and smiled

“Don’t pout. Sometimes it’s good to be bold. If I hadn’t been bold when we were teens you would’ve never dated me.”

“Now I wouldn’t say that, but I probably would have needed more convincing.”

“Hey what’s that supposed to mean?!” 

Ignis laughed and leaned back wrapping one arm around Gladio’s neck and gently kissed him on the lips.

“I’m just teasing you, let me have my fun.”

“Fine, I’ll let it slide.”

Gladio pulled out making Ignis gasp a little then Gladio proceeded to grab him up for a deeper kiss. Ignis wrapped his arms around Gladio’s neck to deepen the sultry kiss. As their lips parted to catch their breath Gladio said with a sweet smile

“Happy birthday Iggy.”

A huge smile crossed his face as he replied 

“Thank you Gladio.”

Ignis gave him a quick kiss on the lips and then gently pushed him away. Sitting up he said

“Come on we can’t get too carried away. Prompto is waiting for us.”

“You’re no fun.”

Gladio laughed then stole one quick kiss before hopping out of bed. Ignis stood up and felt quite woozy and weak in the knees. As he stood there cum slowly began to run down his thigh and he began to feel the familiar, but long absent sting in his lower back from a pleasurable night. Feeling he had regained his bearings he took a step and stumbled a little, but Gladio was instantly by his side steadying him. 

“Whoa careful Iggy. I guess we went at it a little too hard. Is your back ok?”

“It’s quite sore, but it will recover. It’s been 3 months since we last had sex so my body took awhile to adjust and become accustomed again. No worries though I have no complaints.”

Ignis went to walk again, but stumbled once more too weak in the knees to steady himself. Gladio having a hand on Ignis’s arm already steadied him.

“I gotcha. Let me help you to the shower.”

“Thank you I’m afraid my knees won’t allow me to make it on my own. You had better come too. I don’t think Prompto is going to want to smell you or me after all the sweating we did last night.”

“Yeah you’re probably right.”

Gladio then let out a satisfied laugh. Puzzled Ignis asked

“What is it?”

“I just got a good look at you and you’re covered in kiss and bite marks from head to toe.”

“I’m sure I left my mark in several places on you as well. Some are probably very visible.”

He said with a satisfied grin. Gladio looked at himself and did indeed find many kiss and bite marks the biggest one being on his collarbone across his tattoo. 

“You’re right I’m covered in about as many as you are, but don’t worry I didn’t leave any that would be too visible on you. I learned my lesson after the one and only time Noct noticed a huge one on your neck. That night you made sure we had alone time and you tied me up, blindfolded me and did some kinky shit to me. Who would’ve guessed you were a closet kink. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“And don’t forget it.”

Gladio smirked

“Then again that was exciting. We need to do more shit like that more often.”

“The darkness does bring an element of excitement to the table. It also spikes the pleasure.” 

Gladio chuckled then gave Ignis a soft spank making him jump.

“Come on let’s get to the shower before I jump you. I promise no funny business in the shower.”

“I’m gonna hold you to it. If Prompto wasn’t waiting for us I’d say otherwise.”

Gladio laughed surprised by Ignis’s boldness. Gently taking Iggy’s hand in his he kissed it.

“I really do love that kinky side of you Iggy. Since you’re always so composed in front of others it always surprises me even after all these years.”

“Well it just proves how comfortable I am around you does it not?”

“Yeah you’re right. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Gladio then wrapped an arm around Ignis’s waist to steady him and said

“Shall we head to the shower?”

Smiling Ignis replied

“Yes indeed.”

With that Gladio carefully and slowly helped Ignis make his way to the shower.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

As they entered HQ Gladiolus and Ignis could hear Prompto chatting with Talcott and a couple of other hunters that had just returned. Once he caught sight of them Prompto popped up from his seat and hugged each of them.

“Hey guys, long time no see! How ya been?”

Ignis answered first 

“Work has been steady as you know so things have been good.”

Gladio replied

“Same.”

A look of concern crossed Prompto’s face.

“How’s your arm Iggy? I heard that hunt from last week was brutal and you almost got your arm torn off. And what about the other hunt with the four Iron Giants?”

Gladio’s eyes widened and he said angrily

“I thought you said the hunt was a breeze! The wounds on your arm don’t look that bad. And what other hunt?! You didn’t say anything about iron giants!”

Prompto bit his lip realizing he opened up a can of worms he shouldn’t have. Ignis sighed and replied to Gladio first.

“Gladio that hunt was a breeze, well at least it would have been if a whole pack of goblins hadn’t shown up. Anyway details details they’re not important. As to the iron giants you would know about that hunt if you had contacted me, but lets not get back into that now shall we.”

Gladio was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say so instead he crossed his arms and stood moodily nearby. As to Prompto Ignis answered.

“My arm is fine thank you for asking. It’s a bit sore, but the cuts have healed over and it is on the mend. I will tell you the details later if you so wish. About the iron giant hunt I will also tell you about that later.”

Prompto looked at Ignis apologetically and whispered

“Sorry.”

Ignis nodded slightly then asked

“Now have you eaten yet?”

A huge smile crossed Prompto’s face as he answered

“No I haven’t food sounds amazing! I drove all night just to make it here on time.”

Puzzled Ignis asked 

“On time for what.”

“Oh you know the part…”

He stopped mid sentence as Gladio waved his hands angrily and gave him the kill sign.

“The part?”

Prompto quickly recovered and stammered 

“Ohhh yeah the, the part. You know, ugh, the part-nership of the three of us going on a hunt together! We all haven’t been on a hunt together in a long time and I wanted to make sure I got here on time and didn’t miss it.”

“Oh that’s true you we haven’t been on a hunt just the three of us in ages. I’m glad you could make it. Anyway I’ll go prepare us some food. Gladio I assume you are hungry as well?”

“You bet! I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since before I got into town yesterday. I burned a lot of energy yesterday so my tank is running on empty.”

Prompto snickered and said 

“I bet you burned a lot of energy with all that love making you did last night.” 

Gladio chuckled but Ignis wasn’t haven’t any of it. In the most serious voice he could muster he replied

“Prompto Argentum.”

Caught off guard by his serious tone Prompto stood up straight and answered

“Y-yes sir?!”

“If you mention our love life one more time, especially in a public place, I will make a meal full of you least favorite foods, burn it, and force feed you every last scrap of it. Am I clear?”

Prompto gulped

“Crystal clear”

Ignis nodded 

“Good. Now if you could both wait patiently at a table nearby I will go to the kitchen and make us a meal.”

With that said Ignis made his way towards the backroom where the kitchen was located. On their way to a table Gladio stated

“A meal of your least favorite food will be the least of your worries if Iggy heard you bring that subject up again. If I told you some of the things he’s done to me for mentioning it in public you’d have nightmares for weeks.”

As they sat down Prompto looked towards the back door to make sure Ignis wasn’t around then said

“Hey sorry for almost blowing the surprise party it’s tonight right?”

Gladio nodded  
“Yeah I figured it would be best to have it before we leave on the hunt.”

“True I hope he loves it.”

“Me too. It’ll be good for him to be surrounded by people he knows and cares about. ”

“Yeah and it’ll give him a chance to relax for once. We both know he works himself too hard.”

“Exactly! After this I gotta go to Iris’s place and go over the run down of the party. Do you think you can keep Iggy busy?”

“Yeah, sure thing. Anyway back to what we were talking about before. You’re telling me after all these years he’s still super embarrassed about anyone hearing about your love life.”

“Iggy is just a very private guy and I respect that. The whole world doesn’t need to know how often we knock boots.”

“Well in the past on our road trip you guys had a difficult time keeping your love life private. You guys could get pretty loud.”

Gladio chuckled

“Yeah that’s mostly my fault. I think I scarred him from embarrassment. Anyway I can say the same about you and Noct. I will never forget the sounds of your moans in that paper-thin tent. The first time you guys ever did it in the tent I thought Noct had a girl with him.”

Prompto blushed profusely and rubbed the back of his head while smiling awkwardly. 

“Yeah well you know how it is when you get worked up. I bet Ignis…”

He stopped mid sentence as a knife came sailing across the room and hit the wall right next to him. Prompto froze as a cold sweat broke over his body and he mechanically turned toward the back door to see Ignis’s head popping out from behind it.

“I won’t warn you again.”

Gladio pulled the knife out of the wall and said 

“Iggy catch.”

He threw the knife straight at Ignis who miraculously caught it between two fingers then walked back to the kitchen, the door slamming behind him. Prompto sat there with his mouth wide open. Gladio rolling in laughter.

“Close your mouth Prompto you don’t want a chocobo to make a nest in there. Why are you surprised anyway? You’ve seen him fight.”

“I know, it’s just with him being blind I forget sometimes just how deadly accurate he can be. Still I can’t believe he threw a knife at me!! What if he missed?!”

“ You’d be dead. Lucky for you Iggy never misses.”

Prompto gulped then took in a deep breath and sighed

“Well anyway I’m glad to know he’s basically back to normal, well as normal as he can be. Even after 10 years I still worry about him.”

“You and me both. He had another episode this morning. First one I’ve seen in years.”

A look of concern crossed Prompto’s face as he asked 

“How bad was it?”

“It only took him a couple of minutes to calm down and remember where he was. It wasn’t a complete melt down, but don’t let him know I told you.”

“I understand. He had one when I was here two weeks ago and it was pretty bad. He couldn’t stop shaking and he kept rubbing his eyes and pacing his room looking for us and Noct. When he realized I was there he kept telling me to turn on the lights. It took me over a half hour to calm him down and get him to relax. He was just too stressed out and stress is what brings on those episodes most of the time. He has medicine to help calm him down and keep them at bay, but he doesn’t take it very often, says it makes him too sleepy. I tried to call you to tell you about it, but your phone was off.”

Gladio sighed another lump of guilt nestled in his chest. 

“Sorry. Thanks Prompto for helping him.”

“No problem. It’s the least I could do. Ignis has done so much for me over the years that I’ll never be able to pay him back.”

“You and me both. By the way how often does he have these episodes? When I asked him before he said he hardly ever has them. Well until recently”

“Eh he has them a couple times a month. Depending on how stressed he is he sometimes has them a couple of times a week. I try to pop in every two weeks to make sure he’s ok. Iris tries to visit him weekly just to say hi and check up on him. She tells him any news she’s heard of you when she can.”

They fell silent for a moment until Prompto said quietly.

“You need to be there for him more often Gladio. He needs you. Not just physically, but mentally. You’re his rock and he feels lost when you’re not around. With Noct gone he feels like his life is aimless, that he no longer has any importance. That’s why he takes on as many hunts as he can – to feel useful. He believes that if he can make even a tiny difference that all the injuries and pain he sustains are worth it. If I could see Noct again I’d be by his side every day no matter what.”

Gladio growled angrily

“If you could see Noct every day we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now would we!”

He finished by pounding a fist on the table silencing the room. Gladio continued to look out the window next to their table and take in a deep breath. He then put his head in his hands on the table and stated

“I’m sorry Prompto I didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

Prompto nodded and said quietly

“It’s ok don’t worry about it.”

Gladio looked up at him grief and regret in his eyes and to Prompto’s surprise small tears.

“I know I need to be there for Iggy more. I worry about him all the time and I’m terrified he’s gonna get himself killed someday with all these hunts he takes on.”

Gladio quickly wiped his tears away as Prompto asked

“What’s stopping you then?”

Gladio sniffled

“Every time I look at Iggy I feel immense guilt. Guilt that shakes me to my core. I was right next to him when he was attacked in Altissia. If I had reacted a second sooner he might not have gone blind. His life was turned upside down from that injury and it has never been the same. He felt so useless and hated himself in the beginning for not being able to help Noct. Sure on the surface he tried to play it off as if everything was ok as to not worry Noct or us, but I know for a fact he was losing it on the inside. He felt like a burden, but wanted to stay with us until the very end because we are the only family he has. Then when Noct got sucked into the crystal it caused him to have another meltdown. I wasn’t sure he was ever going to recover from that one.”

Prompto nodded

“Yeah that one was pretty bad. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Ignis after Noct was taken away.”

“Once we returned to Lestallum he wouldn’t get out of bed or even eat. On top of that he suffered from those night terrors every day.”

A dark haunted look crossed Prompto’s face

“Yeah I remember. I tried my best to get him to eat, but I barely got him to eat anything. He was like that for weeks and he became so thin. I remember sitting by his bedside for countless hours just trying to comfort him. We had just lost Noct I was so afraid we were going to lose him too. It was like his will to go on was gone.”

“It was gone. As weird as it may sound in a lot of ways Noctis is like a son to Iggy. Even though they are only 2 years apart Ignis basically raised Noct since King Regis was so busy and Noct’s mom died when he was young. Of course I was there too to help, but Iggy did everything for him. Iggy basically was Noct’s mom. From the time Noct was a toddler to 10 years ago Iggy took care of Noctis and taught him almost everything he knows. To lose your eyesight and not be able to help someone so precious to you is heart and mind breaking. I don’t know how Ignis kept himself together for as long as he did. So when we lost Noct it broke him. It took a lot of tears and begging just to get him to eat at times. When I held him he felt so fragile and paper thin, I was afraid I was going to crush him. I thought he was going to die. This was all because I couldn’t protect him or Noctis.”

They grew silent again for a moment. Gladio wiped away more tears trying to not let Prompto see. Finally Prompto said

“That’s some heavy stuff man, but you shouldn’t be carrying this burden on your own. You need to talk to us. How do you think I feel. I couldn’t do anything to help Iggy or Noct either. We all felt pretty useless the day Noct was taken, but there was nothing we could do. It took me a long time to accept that fact. Gladio none of that is your fault so stop beating yourself up.”

Gladio nodded and replied quietly

“I know I’m being stupid, but I…I love him so much I just can’t get over the fact that I couldn’t do anything in Altissia to protect him. So now I’m super protective of him and I hate when he goes on these hunts. We’ve been dating since I was 15 and I’ve known him my whole life. Because I know him so well I know how he thinks and he will never stop going on these dangerous hunts unless I tie him up and hide him away. Trust me the thought has crossed my mind more than once. I just want him to be safe, but I can’t ask him to be someone he’s not.”

Prompto somberly nodded and just as he was going to reply he heard Ignis say right next to him 

“Alright gentleman your breakfast for today is Croque Madame.”

Causing Prompto to jump a little and let out a small noise of surprise. As Ignis gently set a plate down in front of each of them and one for himself he asked

“Did I scare you Prompto?”

“Ugh yeah! We were so deep in conversation that I didn’t even hear you walk up.”

As Ignis took a seat in the chair next to Gladio he asked 

“Hmm and what was the topic? It had better not…”

Prompto quickly interrupted him and said frantically

“No, no it wasn’t that or anything bad. We were just talking about the good old days.”

“Ah well good. Now eat up before your food gets cold.”

As he said that Talcott walked over with drinks.

“Good morning. For you Ignis some Ebony, Happy birthday by the way, for Gladio and Prompto water.”

He placed said beverages in front of each of them as he did this Ignis replied with a smile.

“Thank you Talcott, it’s much appreciated.” 

“You’re welcome and don’t worry about the dishes I’ll take care of them. It’s my treat.”

“That is very kind of you, thank you.”

“No problem.”

With that he walked away to go talk to a hunter on the other side of the room. As Ignis took a sip of his coffee he realized how quiet the table was.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?”

Prompto spoke up excitedly

“Nothing is wrong Iggy! I was just admiring the food – it looks so good! It’s been awhile since I had one of your home cooked meals. I’ve always found your cooking to be top ‘Noct’ and always get super excited to come home just to eat one of your meals. Oh and to see you guys of course! Your meals are one of the few things that keep me going! They make me think of happier times.”

With that said he dug in. Ignis blushing a little said very sincerely 

“I didn’t know that you felt that way. Thank you Prompto for thinking so highly of my cooking.”

With a huge smile he said made the noise

“Mmhmm!”

Turning to Gladio Ignis asked

“And you Gladio? It sounds like you’ve barely touched your plate. Is it not to your liking?”

“No, no that’s not it. Your food is amazing as always.”

Ignis could tell by the hitch in his throat that Gladio was hiding something.

“Then what is it? Is everything alright?”

Clearing his throat Gladio trying to sound a little more upbeat replied

“Nothing’s wrong I promise.”

With that Gladio dug into his food. Not buying it, but letting it slide Ignis said 

“Hmm, alright.”

After that Prompto started up a conversation about Ignis’s favorite meals to make. It took up the entirety of the meal and then some. They even talked about Noctis’ none veggie diet and how they had to force-feed him them most days. Towards the end of the conversation the room had cleared out and Talcott came over and took the dishes away. As he did Gladio stated

“Hey I need to go see Iris and talk to her about a couple of things. I haven’t checked in with her yet and I’m sure she’s not happy about it. So I’m gonna head out.” With that he backed out his chair and began to get up. Ignis nodded and said

“I completely understand. Her temper like yours is one to be reckoned with. You had best be off as to not set her off.”

Gladio pushed his chair in and leaned down and gave Iggy a deep kiss on the lips causing Prompto and Ignis to turn bright red. Seeing this made Gladiolus laughed joyfully and say

“Again, happy birthday Iggy. That’s just a taste of what to expect tonight. In the mean time take it easy Ignis it’s your big day – enjoy it. Anyway I’ll see the two of you later.”

With that he left. Iggy sat there dumbfounded and heard Prompto start to laugh. Ignis quickly found his voice and clearly flustered said

“Not a word out of you.”

Prompto tried his best to stifle his laugher and eventually said

“Well at least he waited until the room was clear to do that.”

“Yes, but that does not make it any less embarrassing.”

After Ignis regained his composure Prompto asked

“Hey Iggy do you wanna go to the market place? I wanna see if they’ve got any good hunting supplies and weapons there.”

“Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. I need to buy some extra groceries since Gladio is here and I have no idea how long he will be staying. Let us be off.”

With that they both got up from their chairs pushed them back in and made their way to the market place.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The market was packed as always with very little personal space to be found. Ignis and Prompto perused their way through several different stands. With the help of Prompto Ignis purchased many different ingredients for meals at the market. He tried his best to get ingredients for Gladio’s favorite meals, but unfortunately due to the sun being gone and darkness only remaining some ingredients were scarce. He and Prompto made their way to a nearby table to take a rest. They had been at the market for 2 hours and their arms were getting full.

*sigh*

“Blast this cursed darkness. With no sun growing food has become much more difficult. I was only able to get all of the ingredients for two of Gladio’s favorite meals. I guess that will have to do.”

Placing his head in his hands with his arms propped up on the table Prompto let out his own sigh. 

“I miss the sun. I wish Noct would come back already and kick Ardyn’s ass so the sun would come back. Then maybe we could go back to Galdin and spend a day at the beach like we used to.”

“Yes that does sound rather inviting. By the way Prompto what did you get at the market?”

“Just some antidotes and potions. I was running low. I didn’t really see anything else.”

“But what about that stand you spent quite a bit of time at?”

“Oh, ugh I was looking at different little trinkets. I’m always on the look out for gifts for Noct. So I was debating if I wanted to buy Noct a birthday present. I know it’s a long ways away since it’s February, but I’ve been getting him a small gift for every year he has been gone so he has a whole bunch of presents to open when he gets back! I’m weird I know. I just miss him a lot.”

He sounded a little somber towards the end of his answer.

“It’s sweet Prompto.”

After a moment and some rustling sounds Prompto exclaimed

“I did however get you these!”

Ignis suddenly felt a bouquet of flowers shoved under his nose. In shock he happily took them and gave them a sniff.

“These are lilies! However did you get them? I didn’t think this type of flower could be found anymore.”

“Gladio, Iris and I pulled some strings and paid a little extra cash to get a vendor to grow them for us. I was at that stand for so long because I was picking them up and paying him for them. They’re very rare, but we knew it would be worth the trouble to get them to see the smile they put on your face. That being said, smile.”

He then pulled out his camera and took a picture.

“I’ll show Gladio and Iris later.”

Stunned all Ignis could say was 

“Thank you. Sincerely from the bottom of my heart. This is the best gift I have received in years. You even brought your camera.”

Prompto smiled sadly

“It’s the first picture I’ve taken since Noct disappeared. I just don’t find picture taking as fun as it used to, but I knew I wanted a picture of this. Maybe someday I’ll get to show Noct too – he’ll love it.”

“I’m sure he will.”

They grew quiet for a moment until Ignis asked for the time. Looking at his phone Prompto answered

“It’s almost 1’o clock. Why what’s up?”

“I was just debating on when I should start preparing supper. I suspect Gladio will be back from Iris’ soon, will work out, and then be ready for a meal.”

“Ignis it’s your birthday don’t worry about making a meal tonight. Gladio told you to relax remember? I’m sure he has something planned so just wait until you hear back from him.”

“I suppose you’re right. Old habits die hard. We should probably head back to the apartment to drop off our purchases. I assume you’ll be staying with us as usual?”

Laughing slightly

“Eh probably not tonight. I don’t want to cramp your style or hear anything gross.”

Confused he asked

“What do you mea-?”

Then it dawned on him and he turned bright red. Clearing his throat he said

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Yeah…”

“Then may I ask where you will be staying?”

“Iris called me earlier and said I could crash at her place, but I’d be more than happy to help you take all this stuff back to the apartment.”

“That would be most appreciated. Shall we be off then?”

“Sure.”

Each picking up a bag of goods they slowly made their way out of the market.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Back at the apartment Ignis and Prompto began to unload the bags. Prompto stating

“Hey Iggy why don’t you take a seat while I put stuff away. If I can’t figure out where to put something I’ll ask.”

“Hmm alright. I’ll make some tea would you like some?”

“Nah, but if you have some hot cocoa I’ll take some of that.”

“Hot cocoa it is.” 

Getting the teakettle out Iggy started to fill it with water as Prompto started to fill the cupboards and fridge with the goods they just purchased. Ignis only had to correct Prompto where things went a few times other than that he did quite well. Just as the kettle began to sing Ignis could hear Prompto start to frantically pat himself.

“It’s not here!”

Concerned Ignis asked

“What happened? What are you talking about?”

“My picture of Noct! It’s not in my pocket! I hope it didn’t fall out at the market!”

He could hear Prompto start to frantically search the cupboards and the bags. He could tell Prompto was close to tears and put the kettle aside to help search. It was then that he felt something beneath his shoe. Bending down he picked up what felt like an old piece of paper rough with worn edges.

“Prompto I think I found it.” 

Making a excited squeal Prompto rushed over to him as he stood up. He held it out for Prompto to inspect. Taking it quickly from his hand Prompto said in a very relieved voice

“Yes this is it! Thank you Ignis!”

“You must have dropped it while you were stretching to reach the top cupboards.”

He heard Prompto sniffle as he said

“Yeah.”

“Prompto take a seat. The tea and cocoa are almost ready.”

“Mkay.”

Was Prompto’s only response.

With the hot beverages prepared Ignis placed them on the table.”

“Thank you.”

Prompto said quietly. He could tell Prompto was looking at the photo still and decided to say

“It’s hard to believe Noct has been gone for 10 whole years and what a strange 10 years it has been. Where did the time go?”

“Yeah. There are days when I keep so busy that I barely think of him, but then there are days when I can barely get out of bed. I miss him so much.”

Ignis could tell Prompto was barely keeping it together.

“It’s alright Prompto, let it out.”

Just like that a floodgate broke and the ever cheerful Prompto broke down. Ignis understood the pain quite well and completely sympathized with Prompto. To help calm him down he gently rubbed Prompto’s back. After a few minutes Prompto calmed down.

“I’m sorry Iggy I shouldn’t be crying on your birthday.”

“It’s quite alright my friend. As you know I’ve had my share of breakdowns that Gladio and you have had to pick me back up from. Sometimes they happen when you least expect them.”

“Yeah like just now.”

“By the way Prompto what were you and Gladio talking about earlier? I sensed he was hiding something from me to spare my feelings. I’ve known that man far to long for him to pull the wool over my eyes. I know when he is covering something up.”

Prompto remained silent for a minute unsure if he should spill the beans or not. Finally he replied

“We were talking about the past, but…”

He went silent for a moment. Ignis in a very patient voice asked

“But what?”

“I don’t want to ruin your birthday let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“Out with it Prompto.”

*sigh*

“We, we were talking about…you.”

It fell silent for a moment 

“What do you mean Prompto? What about me?”

Prompto grimaced and said more to himself than Ignis

“Man Gladio is gonna kill me!”

Ignis now concerned and suspicious asked

“Why? What did he tell you?”

“You have to promise not to get mad ok?”

“I will try my best, but I can’t make any promises.”

Prompto took in a deep breath and said 

“Well first of all just know that he loves you and worries about you.”

Ignis nodded Prompto continued

“He was telling me about how he’s worried about your safety when you go on hunts especially on your own. He’s afraid someday your going to get yourself killed and he knows there is nothing he can do to stop you. But you already knew all that.”

“Yes.”

Prompto lowered his head unable to look Ignis in the face for what he was about to say

“Well he mentioned you, you had an episode this morning. He asked me how often you have them.”

“And what did you say?”

He asked a little flustered

“I, I was honest. I said you usually only have them a couple of times a month, but when you’re more stressed you tend to have them weekly if not daily. I told him about the last one you had when I was here and about the medicine you have to help with the episodes, but that you never take them because they make you sleepy.”

Ignis sat back in his chair and let out a deep sigh while crossing his arms. With a hint of frustration in his voice Ignis replied

“He didn’t need to know any of that Prompto. I appreciate your honesty, but at the same time he already has enough on his plate to worry about with the hunters. He didn’t need this to distract him.”

Prompto became a bit angry himself and yelled 

“Yes he did need to know Ignis! You’re his partner, his best friend! He needs to know what is going on with you just like you need to know what’s going on with him! That’s why I got on his case about not being here enough for you! I told him if Noct were here I’d never leave his side no matter what! When I asked him why he wasn’t here more often do you know what he said?”

A bit floored by Prompto’s sudden tantrum he replied

“No, I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“He said that every time he looks at you it’s painful and he feels riddled with guilt. He told me he blames himself for your blindness! He’s upset because he was right there with you and believes if he had reacted just a few seconds sooner you might not have been as badly injured and that you wouldn’t have gone blind. He basically blames himself for all your hardships and even your night terrors. It’s so stupid! It’s not his fault it’s the Empires! It’s Ardyn’s fault!”

Ignis felt two things: a rush of red hot anger and outright disbelief. After a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up and made his way towards the door. Seeing this Prompto jumped up and yelling

“Where are you going?!”

Ignis paused at the door

“Isn’t it obvious – to find Gladiolus!”

Prompto ran over to him as he opened the door and grabbed his arm.

“Wait what are you going to say to him?!”

“What needs to be said now stay here Prompto. This is between Gladiolus and I.”

He paused for a moment and looked in Prompto’s direction and said quietly

“Thank you Prompto for telling me I know it wasn’t easy. Also thank you for caring about me, for caring about Gladio and me. You are a most treasured friend.”

Prompto was stunned and Ignis easily escaped his grip and left out the door, it gently shutting in Prompto’s face.


	3. LEARNING TO FORGIVE, FORGET, AND MOVE ON

Ignis rushed as fast as he could to Iris’s apartment hoping Gladio was still there. 

'I can’t believe he blames himself for my injuries – for what happened to me! It wasn’t his fault! The audacity that man has to blame himself instead of the Empire. What is he thinking?!' He thought

Ignis stumbled for a moment and tripped scrapping his knee. He knew Lestallum well by now, but every day of being blind had its own challenges. There were still days when he stumbled, tripped, or fell. Finally reaching Iris’s place he knocked on the door. Iris opened it surprised to see him.

“Oh Ignis happy birthday! Are you looking for Gladdy?”

Out of breath he nodded and said

“Thank you and yes.”

Taking a look at him she asked 

“Are you alright?! Is everything okay? Your knee is bleeding!”

“Things have been better. May I come in please?”

“Oh yes! Come in! Gladdy just got a call from Prompto I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Iris opened the door wide to let him in. While shutting it behind him she called out. 

“Gladdy! Ignis is here to see you!” 

From the kitchen they heard 

“Alright be there in a second! – Prompto slow down. You told him what!?”

Gladio came into the sitting room ending his call with a troubled look on his face. 

“Iris could you give us a minute?”

Looking at him with concern she replied 

“Sure. Call if you need me.”

With that she left the room. After a deep breath Gladio said

“Prompto just tried to catch me up. It’s not as bad as it se – are you alright?!”

He just realized Ignis’s right pant leg was torn and his knee was bleeding. Frustrated Ignis replied 

“I’m fine I just fell a few times on my way here. It’s nothing serious.”

“You fell! Let me take a look.”

He stepped forward to look at Ignis’ knee, but Iggy took a step back.

“No! Not until we’ve talked.”

Gladio sighed and said

“Stubborn as usual. Guess I’ll have to do this the hard way.”

He moved forward and reached out for Ignis but Ignis dodged his hand and batted it away. Gladio tried it again same result. On the third failed attempt Ignis yelled

“If it bothers you that much don’t look at it!”

“FINE! Have it your way!” 

He backed away from Iggy throwing his hands up in the air. After hearing Ignis let out a sigh Gladio caught him off guard and grabbed him around the waist. Ignis struggled and yelled

“Let go Gladiolus!”

“Not a chance! I’m bigger than you, you know you’re not going to escape so you might as well give up.”

Ignis continuing to struggle knew he had no chance of escaping now that Gladio had a firm grip on him. Resorting to the next best option he yelled

“I don’t want you to look at this injury and feel guilty about it too!”

Gladio shocked by Ignis’s words loosened his grip momentarily allowing Ignis to escape. Stumbling backwards Ignis put a little distance between them. He knew what he said was a low blow that Gladiolus wasn’t expecting it. After a moment Ignis continued.

“You knew what danger we were putting ourselves in back then in Altissia. You knew the risks! How can you blame yourself for my blindness?! Do you feel so guilty that every waking second with me is painful?!”

Finally Gladio yelled with a grimace

“YES!”

Stunned Ignis fell silent as Gladio continued

“Yes, I knew what we were getting into - the danger that awaited us, but I never would’ve guessed that an evacuation could go so wrong! I was there I should have been able to protect you! I went through hell during Gilgamesh’s trial and passed it, but even after all that I couldn’t protect you or Noct! Every time I look at your face I am reminded of how much of a failure I am as the Shield of the King! You’re the one person I should have been able to protect that day and I failed! So yes I do feel guilty and blame myself for you losing your eyesight. Your life has been forever changed in a drastic way and I should have been able to stop that attack and protected you!”

After a pause of silence Ignis said quietly

“So that’s how you truly feel. Do…do you even love me anymore? Are your affections just an act out of guilt? Am I just a burden to you now?”

“OF COURSE I STILL LOVE YOU! How can you even ask such a stupid question?! After all we’ve done after all we’ve been through together do you think I’d stay by your side out of pity or a sense of duty?! Hell no! And I’ve never once thought of you as a burden! Yes what you just heard is how I truly feel, but I’ve never stopped loving you! I’m ashamed of myself for failing you and I’d take any punishment if it meant you could have your eyesight back, but my feelings for you have never changed. I love you just as much as the first time I asked you out if not more! So when I look at your face I feel like my heart is going to break.”

“GLADIOLUS AMICITIA DO NOT FEEL PITY FOR ME! I may be blind, but I am not a helpless fragile animal! You and Prompto seem to think I need to be constantly watched over and protected well I bloody well don’t! You know full well how damn foolish it is to blame yourself or to wish for a way to reverse it. It’s Ardyn’s fault! After all these years how can you blame yourself for what happened?!”

Gladio was stunned by Ignis’s outburst. Ignis rarely ever raised his voice. Gladio could feel his own anger welling up inside.

“Yes I do know, but that doesn’t make it any easier to throw those thoughts and pangs of guilt away! My punishment for failing you is watching you struggle just to do daily tasks that you once could do with no problem. Sure you’ve gotten more used to being blind and can even fight almost as well as you once could, but you will never be the same again! And those damn night terrors! Watching you struggle through them- to see how terrified and panicked you become from them is the worst thing to witness out of it all! During those moments when the darkness claims you and you lose yourself I’m terrified that one day you’ll never escape them and I’ll never get you back. Why were you keeping it a secret from me that they were happening more frequently?! Prompto told me you have medicine to help keep them at bay! Why don’t you take it?!”

“I don’t take it because it makes me feel sleepy and not quite myself! Like my mind is in a fog. It makes it very difficult to fight and I kept it from you because I didn’t want you to worry! You already have enough on your plate helping out the hunters I didn’t want to add myself to your list!”

“Then maybe you should start taking it at night! And I just wish you would have told me about it.”

“I do! When I have a particularly stressful day I will take it, but then it feels like I sleep for far too long and that throws off my schedule making me feel even more disoriented. And how the bloody hell was I supposed to tell you when for 3 months you wouldn’t return my messages or turn you damn phone on?! Besides that how would telling you have helped? It’s not like you would have just dropped all your hunts and come back here. It would’ve been pointless to tell you.”

Gladio sighed

“Again I’m sorry for not keeping in contact! It’s my bad! I shouldn’t have made you worry. It won’t happen again. Anyway, I know now so there must be something to fix this. Some other medicine you can take.”

“There is no winning with being blind! Yes I have become accustomed to it and I can function much better than I did in the beginning, but as you have said I will never be the same! I will always remember what it was like to see and I won’t lie that I miss it. It made life a hell of a lot easier, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to roll over and die because I can’t see. I have my good days and my bad ones just like everyone else, but life goes on!

*sigh*

I will say what I miss the most about seeing are the small things. I miss the night sky and how it was always bright with beautiful stars. I miss seeing birds flying in the vast blue sky. I miss seeing all the gorgeous flowers this world had to offer. I miss seeing Prompto’s face light up when he captured a good picture or when he ate my meals.”

Suddenly he began to tear up as the next thought popped in his head

“I miss seeing the joy that filled Noct’s eyes when he fished especially when he caught a large catch. I miss seeing him doze off in the back of the Regalia or around the campfire after a particularly long day and a good meal. I even miss his upturned face when he saw vegetables in his food. I miss so many things, but what I miss the most is you.”

His tears began to fall in earnest like big drops of rain falling from the sky. Gladio looked at him feeling heartbroken.

“Iggy…”

Ignis’s voice began to shake as he continued

“I miss seeing your gorgeous smile that could block out the sun and turn any dreadful day into a most enjoyable one. I miss being able to look into your deep, beautiful brown eyes that always made me feel safe and treasured. I miss seeing your body glisten with sweat after every work out and how accomplished you always looked after each one. I miss the smirk you’d wear when you’re feeling mischievous and are up to no good. I even miss the way your eyebrows ruffle when you get frustrated or upset.”

He took a second to wipe his eyes then said

“I miss so many things about you, the boys, and this world in general even if it like myself is covered in darkness now. That feeling will never go away, but despite it all being blind is not so bad. I have come to appreciate my other senses much more and to appreciate what I do have. I treasure the memories I have and hold onto them dearly hoping they never disappear. I refuse to live my life stuck in the past wishing for what I once had and you Gladiolus are doing just that. If you cannot move on and throw away this senseless guilt then we can no longer walk the same path.”

Gladiolus’s eyes went wide and felt his throat go dry, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. Time itself felt like it had come to an abrupt stop.

“Are, are you…breaking up with me?”

Ignis let out a heavy sigh and answered 

“I love you Gladiolus, but if you cannot learn to move on and if my face brings you that much grief then yes I see no point in us being together. Maybe it would be for the best if we separated.”

Gladio felt like his whole being was beginning to shatter. Like a black hole had opened up and he was being sucked into it never to return. Silent tears began to stream down his face, the dam finally breaking. 

Ignis could hear Gladio’s breathing become rough and knowing the cause of it broke him. He felt new tears began to brim in his own eyes and spill over. 

Gladiolus struggling to keep it together finally gave up and let it all out. The thought of having to let Ignis go was something he couldn’t bare and it drove him over the edge. He took a few steps closer to Ignis and dropped down to his knees at Ignis’s feet. Grabbing Ignis around the waist and hugging him tight he buried his head in Ignis’s stomach and pleaded quietly

“Please don’t say that.”

This time Ignis didn’t struggle to get away. He felt his heart shatter and felt terrible for making Gladiolus cry, but what he had said was needed if they were going to have a future together. He gently placed one hand on Gladio’s right shoulder and the other atop his head gently petting it.

After a moment Iris slowly walked into the room tears in her own eyes.

“Please, please stop fighting. You two love each other so much this is more than I can bare. I apologize for listening in, but I need to say this. I understand where you are both coming from. Ignis I agree that Gladdy is being stupid for blaming himself all these years for your blindness. Keeping how he felt from you was foolish, but I understand why he did. He loves you so much that he didn’t want to hurt you by telling you this because he knew you would get upset. That’s why he takes so many hunts to keep himself and his mind busy. It’s a bit extreme, but it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love you. He just thought it would be the best way to spare your feelings and his. It was selfish.”

She turned to her brother

“Gladdy I’ve told you this before, but you never listen. By keeping Ignis at arms length you’re hurting him. He may not share it, but I know he has felt very lonely because of your distance. How the two of you have been able to stay together these long 10 years like that can only be because you truly love each other. I agree that you need to move on and to just be present. I know that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to be here all the time you still have to help the hunters. Still I know that even if you could be here a couple more times a month it would mean the world to Ignis and me as well. 

You need to accept the fact that what is done is done and there is nothing you can do to change what has happened. All you can do is move forward. Noctis will return someday and things will get better, but you can’t greet him like this. He needs both of you at your best both mentally and physically. That being said Ignis you need to take your medicine. I think you need to go back to the doctor and have them give you something different. You hate when those night terrors pop up and we hate watching you struggle through them.”

Ignis nodded silently.

Iris smiled and said

“Now that I’ve thrown my 2 cents in I shall take my leave. I’m sorry if what I said was harsh, but I love you both so much and I felt like you needed to hear that.”

Ignis quietly said

“No thank you Iris for caring we did need to hear that.”

Gladio looked at his sister and nodded

“Yeah thank you. We love you too little sis.”

She smiled brightly then walked back to her room.

Both Gladio and Ignis took a moment to calm down. After a moment Ignis felt Gladio shift and could tell he was looking at him. Ignis placed his hands on either side of Gladio’s face wiping away his tears with his thumbs. He felt him lean into one of his hands.

“Iggy I’m sorry for making you feel so lonely, I never meant to do that. I just wanted to spare you my pain. I figured you already had enough to deal with I didn’t want to burden you with my thoughts and feelings.”

Ignis let out a small chuckle causing Gladio to ask curiously

“What’s so funny?”

“I said something very similar to Prompto earlier when we were discussing my night terrors and how I was keeping them from you. I guess great minds think a like.”

“Yeah stupidly. We could have figured all this out a long time ago if we had just talked it out.”

“True.”

Gladio stood up and cupped Ignis’s face. He looked over his tear-stained face and smiled sadly, fresh tears coming to his eyes.

“I love you Ignis, please don’t ever doubt that again. The thought of losing you is more than I can take.”

He quickly hugged Ignis around the neck and said quietly

“I’m sorry for all the pain and tears I’ve caused you over the years.”

Ignis hugged him back tightly. He knew Gladio was serious due to the tears since Gladio never showed his emotions let alone cried. Ignis knew he was the only one who ever saw this side of Gladio and it made him happy.

“It’s quite alright Gladio, I know I have caused you a deal of tears as well. Let us learn from this and move on.”

After a moment Gladio pulled out of the hug and pulled Ignis into a tender kiss. Afterwards he placed his forehead against Iggy’s and closed his eyes.

“I promise I will do my best to move on from the past. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I won’t give up.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Gladio pulled away and said

“Let’s get you back to the apartment and fix up your knee.”

“If Prompto is still there I’m sure he’d like to know what’s going on. He was quite concerned.”

“You’re telling me. He called talking a mile a minute and crying his eyes out. I could barely understand him.”

“Poor Prompto, I kinda forced the truth out of him.”

“He’ll be fine, he’s a big boy.”

With that being said Gladio picked Ignis up bridal style. To Gladio’s surprise Ignis didn’t make a fuss instead he wrapped his arms around his neck. Leaving Iris’s apartment they walked all the way home just like that.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Once in the apartment doorway a panicked Prompto quickly swarmed them. He was overjoyed to hear that they had resolved things between each other. Wanting to give them space he left and said he’d see them for dinner. Ignis feeling quite tired suddenly said

“Gladio could you take me to the bed? I’m suddenly exhausted.”

Gladio kissed Ignis’s forehead and made his way to the bedroom. Carefully setting Ignis down he said

“Sit tight I’ll be right back. I’m just going to get the first aid kit out of the bathroom.”

Ignis nodded and patiently waited dangling his legs over the side of the bed. Gladio was back quickly and knelt down to take a look at Ignis’s legs.

“Iggy I can’t get to the wound without rolling your pant leg up. I’m worried that’s only going to make it hurt more. Can I take off your pants?”

“Very carefully.”

“Alright, lay back.”

Ignis did as asked and laid flat on the bed. Gladio first took Ignis’s shoes off then began to undo his belt buckle causing Ignis to became slightly excited from his touch. As Gladio pulled Ignis’s pants off he noticed that Ignis had a slight ejection. Chuckling to himself he said quietly

“Sorry. I forget sometimes how sensitive you are to my touch.”

Ignis turning bright red said in a flustered and tight voice

“It’s fine.”

Ignis sat up as Gladio looked at his right knee.

“It’s pretty bad Iggy. There isn’t much skin left on it and your left knee is bleeding too. Let me look at your hands.”

Ignis put his hands on top of his knees palms up. Gladio removed his gloves and saw that his hands were bleeding as well.

“For the most part your gloves protected your hands but they’re still scuffed up. Your right knee is in the worst. It’s gonna hurt for at least a week. How many times did you fall?”

“Three times.”

“Three?!” 

“I was in a hurry and frustrated. My mind wasn’t focused on walking and being aware of my surroundings.”

Gladio sighed and said 

“Alright hold still Im gonna clean your right knee first.”

Putting rubbing alcohol on some gauze Gladio said

“This is gonna sting.”

He then placed the gauze over the oozing wound covering Ignis’s entire knee. Ignis gasped in pain the moment the gauze touched his skin. The burning sensation was almost unbearable tears forming I his eyes. Gladio quickly blew on it trying to make it less painful. Making quick work of the other injuries Gladio began to put medical cream on all of the cuts. He placed Band-Aids on the smaller injuries, but wrapped the right knee. Once done Gladio gently kissed it and said

“I’m finished.”

“Thank you.”

Gladio noticing the kiss and bite marks he left on Ignis’ inner thighs from this morning gave him an idea. He gently kissed Iggy’s knee again and started to make a trail of kisses down Iggy’s inner thigh. As he did this he kept a close eye on Ignis’s reaction. A blush was growing on his cheeks and his breathing became a little faster. Once he reached Ignis’s crotch he stopped and looked up at him.

“If you’re too tired or not in the mood I’ll stop. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

After a second Ignis said quietly 

“Make it fast.”

Gladio chuckled 

“As you wish.”

Gladio pulled Ignis’s dick out of his boxer briefs and found it half hard. Gladio started by licking from the shaft to the tip then left little kisses up and down it. Ignis shuttering every time Gladio touched the tip. Finally Gladio popped Iggy’s dick in his mouth and massaged the shaft as he sucked. As Ignis became more excited he let out little moans of pleasure and grabbed Gladio’s head and leaned over it. He even began to thrust in rhythm with Gladio’s movements. He blissfully fell into a haze as he felt the heat rising through his hips and into his dick. Within a few short minutes Ignis said

“Gl-Gladio I’m cumming.”

With that he came in a matter of seconds filling Gladio’s mouth with white cum. Panting heavily Ignis let go of Gladio and fell backwards onto the bed. Gladio stood up and wiped cum off the corner of his mouth with his thumb licking it. Turning his gaze onto Ignis he noticed he was flush and sweaty still trying to catch his breath. After looking him over Gladio felt even more turned on. Grinning he said

“My turn.”

He pulled Ignis’s underwear off and grabbed his thighs, dragging his bottom to the very edge of the bed. Unbuckling his own belt and unzipping his pants Gladio brought out his throbbing dick. He quickly placed a pillow under Ignis’s ass and moved his ankles over his shoulders. Testing Ignis’s ass with two fingers he could tell he was ready. Carefully and slowly he inserted himself causing Ignis to gasp and grip the bed. Holding onto Ignis’s thighs Gladio began to thrust starting out slow.

“Are you okay? Tell me if it hurts or if I’m going too fast Ignis.”

“I’m…fine.” He said between gasps tears forming in his eyes.

Ignis quickly became accustomed to Gladio’s dick and began to get hard again. After thrusting for a bit Gladio got hot and threw off his jacket. Letting go of Ignis’s legs he leaned over him, Ignis wrapping his legs around his waist. Gladio quickly unbuttoned Iggy’s shirt and began playing with his nipples successfully making him fully erect. Gladio could feel Iggy’s hard dick rubbing against his stomach pushing him to the edge further. He removed Ignis’s glasses and began a kissing trail starting from his left temple to his eye to eventually his lips. Ignis wrapped his arms around Gladio’s neck deepening the kiss. As their lips parted Ignis pleaded

“Gladio, faster.”

Instantly Gladio turned it into high gear deeply thrusting into Ignis hitting his G-spot. They quickly became out of breath both heavily breathing and in pure ecstasy. Barely being able to speak Gladio stammered

“Ig-gy I’m, gonna…come.”

Gladio thrust even faster causing Ignis to loudly moan. Within seconds Gladio filled Ignis to the brim causing Ignis to arch his back and cum shortly afterwards. Gladio collapsed on top of Ignis both trying to catch their breath. Tears caused from the overwhelming sensations rolled down Ignis’cheeks as he took in several breaths. Gladio licked one of the tears off Ignis’ face and gently wiped the other away. Gladio tenderly kissed Ignis on the cheek, then the lips tucking his hand under Ignis’ chin. He then gently rested his forehead on Ignis’s. Ignis wrapped his arms around Gladio’s shoulders enjoying the tender moment. He missed these moments with Gladio. 

After a minute or so Gladio pulled away just enough to look at Ignis.

“Iggy you look exhausted, you can barely keep yourself awake.”

Gladio pulled himself off of him and pulled out. Afterwards he got a warm wet towel and cleaned Ignis up. Carefully picking him up he tucked Ignis into bed kissing him gently on his left temple as he said

“Rest for awhile Iggy I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.”

Ignis grabbed Gladio’s hand as he began to leave and whispered

“Please stay until I fall asleep.” 

Gladio smiled tenderly

“Sure thing.”

He got on top of the bed and spooned Ignis wrapping his arms gently around him. Feeling safe in Gladio’s strong arms Ignis quickly fell asleep.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The next thing Ignis knew his phone was going off. Groggily getting up he started to feel around for Gladio, but his side of the bed was cold. Finally finding his phone Ignis answered

“Hello.”

“Hey Ignis this is Dave. Sorry to disturb you on your birthday, but I’m in a bit of a crisis.”

Fully alert now Ignis asked

“What’s happened?”

“I just got a call from some hunters near the old Hunters HQ.

“ You mean Meldacio?”

“Yeah that’s the one. A team was sent up there last week to clear out a Naga nest, but suddenly they all went missing without a trace. I sent Cor and a group of 5 others up there yesterday, but they need more help. I tried to get a hold of Gladio and Prompto as well, but their phones are off. I can’t waste anymore time calling around. Aranea and myself are headed there now can you help as well?”

“Yes of course! I can leave in just a few minutes. What about the other hunt for tomorrow?”

“Good, a hunter will meet you at the chocobo stables with a car to travel with you. Cor as I said is already there so take your time and get there safely. It’s about an hour ride. Thankfully that highway has been cleared of demons recently so it shouldn’t be too dangerous to travel on. It’s almost 5pm you should make it there in an hour. Pack for at least a few days and leave immediately. If you see Prompto and Gladio on your way out tell them what’s up if not forget them. I will try calling them again later. As for the other hunt I sent another team that was close out that way. They can handle it for now. Thank you and see you soon.”

*click*

Ignis quickly swung his legs over the edge of the bed and as he went to stand almost fell. His knee was throbbing. Now that he had time to rest he realized just how much his knee hurt.

“Blast.”

Working through the pain he stood up straight to button his shirt. Quickly finding his underwear and a clean pair of pants he put them on. Grabbing his emergency bag on his way out of the bedroom he made his way to the kitchen. He quickly wrote Prompto and Gladio a note and left it on the kitchen table and left. As he made his way to the Chocobo stables he called and left messages on Prompto and Gladio’s phones giving them the details.

“Where are they and why are their phones off?! Of all the times to be slacking off.”

Ignis sighed and said to himself

“Some birthday this is turning out to be.”

With no time to worry Ignis found the hunter and they were soon on their way to meet Cor. 


	4. A HUNT GONE WRONG

Thanks to the demon repelling headlamps Cindy installed in all of the hunters vehicles the car ride went smoothly. As they pulled into the old HQ Cor approached their car as they got out of it.

“As always it’s nice to see you again Ignis. I hope you have been well.”

“It is nice to be in your presence once more as well Marshall. I have been well. Not to cut the greetings short, but have you discovered anything new as of late?”

Cor chuckled 

“As Prompto says ‘Ignis all business’. I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from you. Yes we have discovered Arachne tracks - we almost missed them.”

“Arachne!? This far from Leide?”

“Yeah since a few years ago the Arachne have been popping up all over the map. We discovered a nest of them up near Vesperpool 2 years ago. We believe they might have taken the group of hunters that went missing, but we haven’t found any signs of the men.”

Puzzled Ignis replied

“Curious. I wonder if there is possibly another nest nearby.”

“We thought of that too but have had no luck in finding it. For now I’m going to have three groups split up and search. We’ll be heading up to Vesperpool within the hour. Dave and Aranea should be here any minute now. We will head out when they get here. Since the terrain is too rough for a car we have to use chocobos to travel. I’ll make sure a hunter gets one ready for you.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“So sit tight until Dave arrives.”

Ignis made his way over to the makeshift Chocobo stable where as Cor promised a hunter prepared a Chocobo for him. Dave and Aranea arrived shortly afterwards and split the men into three teams. Dave’s team was to search Eastern Vesperpool near where the known nest was. Cor’s team was to search southern Vesperpool where the men were last seen. Finally Aranea’s team, the team Ignis was assigned to, was to search western Vesperpool. After four hours they were to meet back at old HQ.

Ignis about to mount his chocobo heard chocobo footsteps approaching him.

“Ignis.”

It was Aranea.

“Stay close to me I don’t want you to get lost too. Plus, I don’t want to hear any lip from that brute if something happens to you.”

Ignis smiled knowing she was referring to Gladiolus

“Tactful as ever I see. Yes, I will stay close.”

“Good now saddle up we’re leaving.”

Just as she was about to ride away she stopped and said

“Oh and happy birthday. I’m sorry you have to deal with something like this on your special day. Life sucks like that sometimes.”

Getting on his chocobo Ignis replied

“It’s quite alright. Things happen and you just have to roll with the punches, but thank you for the sentiment.”

“I’m sure Gladio is going to be pissed once he finds out where you are.”

Laughing slightly he replied

“Yes, I’m sure he will be too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find nor reach neither him or Prompto so I’m sure they’ll be quite surprised when they turn their phones on.”

“I hope you don’t catch too much flack from the big guy himself. Anyway lets go.”

“Lead the way.”

At that he and the rest of the hunters soon took off towards Vesperpool. It took about an hour and a half to reach their destination and once they all arrived Dave addressed the teams.

“This is the last place the hunters were according to Terry, the only one to make it back to HQ. Team Cor with the help of Terry will comb this area for more tracks. As for team Aranea search to the west, but be careful. We have no idea what is all out here. If anyone spots anything give the team leaders a call. Move out.”

Cor quickly trotted over to Ignis and said 

“Ignis if you need anything give me a call. Also, I’ll try calling Gladio and Prompto again. The more help we can get the sooner we can go home.”

“I will and agreed. Hopefully we can make quick work of this mystery.”

Cor then started to dish out orders to his team as to where to look in the area. Aranea also instructed her team to follow her. It took them another 15 minutes to reach the west side of Vesperpool. Once there they dismounted and Aranea stated

“Split into teams of two. If anyone finds anything give me or Ignis a call now move out. Ignis you’re coming with me.”

“Yes, my lady after you.”

It wasn’t until a half an hour of searching that Ignis found something. He felt an odd crunch beneath his foot and once inspecting it realized it was a set of dog tags.

“Aranea over here! I believe I have a hunter’s dog tags.”

Aranea quickly made her way over and looked at what was in his hand.

“Yes, it’s what you said it was. It has the name of one of the missing hunters. They must have been dragged farther north than we thought. Let’s search this area a little more. Men! Over hear! We found a dog tag help us search for more.”

With further inspection they found several more items ranging from hunting knives to shoes. Ignis stating

“They most definitely went this way. Aranea is there a walking path nearby here?”

She looked around a moment and after walking through some bushes she confirmed his suspicion.

“Yes there is why? Do you know where we are?”

A thought popped into Ignis’s head.

“That’s it!”

He snapped his fingers

“The men were taken to the Myrlywood! Noctis and the rest of us came to this area 10 years ago. There is a royal tomb nearby. The tomb was guarded by treacherous creatures, it’s the most logical place for the men and the nest to be.”

Just as he finished his statement they heard a rustling in the trees and suddenly with a loud thud three Arachne dropped down from the trees. The team backed away as quickly as they could. Ignis summoning his weapons and Aranea drew her own. The air became stagnant causing goose bumps to rise on Ignis’s arms. Aranea laughing darkly said 

“Well this confirms your suspicions and ours.”

“Indeed. There must be a 2nd nest nearby.”

Suddenly one of the Arachne began to attack and the other two followed suit. Two began to summon their minions and the other sending off electrical shocks. Hunters began to yell and scream as they were thrown about. Ignis’s team was soon overwhelmed and in dire straights. After killing several of the Arachne’s minions Ignis yelled.

“Aranea we must call Dave and Cor! We need back up now!” 

“On it!”

Aranea killed another minion and jumped back. Making her way up a tree she pulled out her phone. Just as she got Dave on the phone and began to tell him the details a 4th Arachne appeared in the tree right next to her. With no time to react the Arachne sent Aranea flying causing her to scream.

“ARANEA!” 

Ignis yelled. She righted herself in the air and landed next to Ignis.

“Are you alright!?”

“It’s just a scratch I’m fine. Call Cor while I hold this one off.”

Ignis did as he was told and pulled out his phone. Cor answered in seconds and asked

“What’s happening?! We can hear screaming from our location. Dave and I are on the way with our teams.”

“Our suspicions were correct there is a 2nd nest! We believe it is near a close by royal tomb. Four of them along with their minions appeared and have begun an attack. We are sorely overmatched.”

Suddenly Aranea was thrown back again but this time she hit a tree.

“Aranea!! Hold on!”

Cor on the line began to panic

“Ignis talk to me what’s happening!?”

“It’s worse that we feared! There are Ir-”

He was suddenly cut off as a new foe appeared and sent him flying into a bush near Aranea. Ignis dropped his phone and could hear Cor calling his name. He felt dizzy and could feel blood running down the side of his face. He stumbled his way to Aranea his knee and new injuries causing him to collapse to his knees beside her. He could tell she was unconscious. Taking in deep breaths he could still hear men fighting around him. He got back on his feet and fought off a few more minions, but was hit with an electric shock and passed out before he hit the ground.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Putting up the last bit of decorations for Ignis’s surprise party Gladio and Prompto looked around the room. It was full of friends they had all come to know over the last 10 years including Cid and Cindy. Iris had just finished bringing out the food and everything was almost in place. Prompto wiped some sweat off his brow and asked.

“What time is it? It feels like it’s getting late. I’m surprised Ignis hasn’t called us yet.”

“Well he was pretty exhausted from our argument and – other stuff.”

Recognition hit Prompto’s face

“Did you guys do it after I left.”

Gladio smirked

“Maybe.”

“I’m glad I didn’t stick around to hear it.”

“Shut up it was just a quickie anyways so you wouldn’t have heard much for long. We were both pretty turned on so we came pretty fast.”

“Ew dude! TMI!!”

Gladio laughing pulled out his phone looking at it with a disgruntled face.

“Crap I forgot I turned off my phone when I was at the apartment. I didn’t want us to get disturbed. I hope Iggy didn’t try to call.”

As his phone began to turn on Prompto pulled out his. 

“Aw man I forgot I turned mine off too when we started decorating. I hope he didn’t try to call me either. It’s already 9pm he has to be awake by now.”

When Gladio’s phone turned on his jaw dropped and his stomach turned.

“Damn it! My phone says I have 30 missed calls and 30 messages!”

Prompto seconds later said in a panicked voice

“Me too! What’s going on?!” 

Iris heard the two and walked over

“Is everything alright?”

Gladio was too focused on listening to his messages so Prompto answered as he listened to his

“Something is wrong. We both have a bunch of missed calls and messages.”

Iris looked for her phone and squeaked

“Oh no I left mine at my apartment!”

Gladio suddenly shushed them all panic crossing his face. 

“Listen to this message from Ignis!”

The room became quiet as he placed his phone on speaker

Gladio this is the 5th time I’ve tried to call you where are you and why is your phone off? Didn’t we just discuss this? Anyway, there’s no time for that I got a call from Dave about a group of hunters vanishing near Vesperpool. It’s an emergency and I’m on my way there now to meet Cor along with Dave and Aranea. I left a note on the kitchen table back at the apartment. I also left a message on yours and Prompto’s phones with all the details so don’t be angry if you get home and realize I’m not there. As I said I tried to call you. Call me back when you can, love you.

The message ended there.

“I have several messages like this from Ignis, Dave, Cor, and Aranea. I still have 10 more messages to listen to! What’s going on?!”

Prompto chimed in 

“I do too! What happened?”

Suddenly Gladio’s phone began to ring. Gladio answered the phone still on speaker

“Hello?! Ignis?”

A very tired voice came on the phone

“Gladio it’s Cor.”

“Cor! What’s going on?! Where’s Ignis?!”

“We tried to call you and Prompto several times, but neither of you picked up. We even called Iris, but she didn’t pick up either.”

Prompto spoke up

“We were decorating for Iggy’s party and forgot to turn our phones back on. We’re sorry!”

Iris added

“I’m sorry too I left my phone at home.”

Gladio then interrupted 

“None of that is important! Where’s Ignis?! Put him on the phone!”

Cor then sounded very weary

“That’s why I’m calling. I can’t put him on the phone, he’s missing.”

Gladio’s heart dropped into his stomach and he suddenly felt sick.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S MISSING?! WHAT HAPPENED?!”

Iris grabbed her brothers’ arm

“Gladdy calm down. Let Cor talk.”

She took the phone from Gladio and held it. Cor replied

“We split into teams to cover more ground. He was with Aranea’s group when they were attacked by a pack of Arachne it caused the attention of a group of Iron Giants . They were quickly overwhelmed. He called me, but he was cut off. By the time my team got there we were barely able to save Aranea and few of the men. The Iron Giants scared the Arachne off and once Dave’s team arrived we finished the giants off, but just barely. All we found of Ignis was his phone. Aranea told me that before she was knocked unconscious that Ignis figured out that the Arachne nest was in the Myrlywood and that there was a royal tomb nearby. We believe the Arachne took Ignis and several of our men there. I’m sorry Gladio.”

Gladio was at a loss for words so Prompto spoke instead.

“Sir we know exactly where that is! We went there with Noct 10 years ago. Sit tight we’ll be there soon.”

“Alright and please bring as many potions and antidotes as you can. We suffered a lot of injuries and have run out of supplies. Many of the men were poisoned and hurt.”

“Will do.”

“Gladio don’t panic. I’m sure Ignis is fine. You know as well as I do that he’s a tough nut to crack. Just get here soon.”

*click*

The room was dead silent all eyes on Gladio. Iris handed him his phone back.

“Gladdy?”

He suddenly turned and made his way towards the door. 

“Gladdy wait for us!”

Iris shouted 

“THERE’S NO TIME! PROMPTO COME ON!”

“Coming!”

Prompto rushed after him. As Gladio reached the door Iris said 

“I’m coming too! You can’t stop me I’m not a little kid anymore!”

Gladio looked at her and said

“No you need to stay here in case for some reason Ignis makes it back here.”

Cindy cut in

“Don’t worry sugar paw-paw and I will be here just in case. So let Iris go with you. It sounds like you need all the help you can get.”

Cid spoke up

“We’ll hold the fort down so don’t worry about it. Now get going all of you!”

Gladio nodded with Prompto saying thank you and he and Iris followed Gladio out the door.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

As they made it to Gladio’s truck Prompto stated

“We need to stop at the store and pick up some potions.”

“No need I have plenty of potions, antidotes and other stuff in my trunk. Ignis just recently refilled my supply. He wouldn’t let me go anywhere without a ton of supplies.”

“Oh. We can always count on Iggy to take care of us…”

Gladio punched his truck door leaving a dent and scaring Prompto and Iris

“Damn it! I can’t believe this is happening! Why can’t I ever protect him! I’m a useless shield!”

Keeping his back to them he stood there drowning in anger, sorrow, and regret. After a moment Iris grabbed her brother’s offended hand. It was bleeding slightly and already bruising. Tears came to her eyes as she kissed it. Looking into his eyes she tried her best to smile.

“Gladdy please stop beating yourself up it’s so painful to watch. Ignis loves you and he’d never blame you for something like this. He wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself. Prompto and I love you too, we’re worried about you, and seeing you do this to yourself is almost more than we can bare.”

Gladio seeing his sister’s tears felt his heart break. He grabbed her up in big hug and kissed her on top of her head causing her to cry even harder. Prompto stepped up into Gladio’s view just behind Iris and with a sad smile looked at Gladio.

“She’s right we’re worried about you.”

“You’re worried about me?”

“Yes! Ignis wouldn’t want you to hurt or blame yourself and neither do we. If Ignis was here right now he’d probably scold you then patch up your hand.” 

Small tears formed in Gladio’s eyes as he let out a small laugh and smiled as he said

“Yeah you’re probably right.”

Sadness crossed his face again as he said

“I’m a sad excuse for a big brother, friend, lover, and shield. I don’t understand what Gilgamesh saw in me? Why does Ignis always have to be the one to get hurt? Why can’t I ever protect him from so much pain?”

Iris looked up at her brother 

“No you’re not Gladdy you’re a wonderful big brother, lover, and friend. As for Gilgamesh he saw you were worthy of being shield of the king. He saw you weren’t just a brute. You have a big heart and you hate seeing the ones you love get hurt. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and sometimes there is nothing we can do, but comfort and support them. We can’t think about the ‘what ifs’ of the situation otherwise we’d go crazy.”

Prompto spoke up

“She’s right, but I know how you feel. I always think back on the day Noct was taken and I think of what I could’ve done differently to help him. In the end I drive myself crazy and just end up feeling like crap, but one day I realized that no matter how many things I could’ve done differently Noct would still have ended up in the crystal. It was his fate and there is nothing I could’ve done to change it. Ignis willingly went on this hunt and just like every hunt he went into it knowing it would be dangerous. So stop beating yourself up over things you have no control over and just work on being better for the future.”

Knowing they were right Gladio grabbed Prompto up in the hug as well surprising him. Prompto happily returned the hug and for a few seconds they all enjoyed a group hug. Releasing them Gladio stated

“I know you’re right it’s just going to take some time to for me to start thinking that way.”

Iris nodded and said

“First you have to forgive yourself.”

Gladio nodded. Prompto then said smiling

“Don’t worry we’ll help you get through this and if you don’t shape up we’ll just kick your ass.”

Gladio laughed

“I can believe that Iris can kick my ass, but I’d love to see you try!”

“Hey! I’ve come a long way since I first joined the crownsguard!”

Gladio ruffled Prompto’s hair and said with a small smile

“I know, I’m just teasing you. Thanks you guys.”

Iris smiled

“No problem. We can straighten you out anytime you need us to.”

Prompto then shouted happily

“LET’S GO SAVE IGNIS!”

Gladio nodded

“Yeah. Alright everyone jump in the truck. Iris I’ll stop by your place so you can get your weapons and supplies then we’ll head out.”

“Sounds good.”

She replied as she got in the front seat. Once everyone was buckled in Gladio drove them to Iris’s and they’d soon be on their way.


	5. RESCUE UNDERWAY

Gladio and friends arrived at the old HQ after 11pm. Cor and the rest of the group were all there tending to their wounds. Gladio got his supplies out of the trunk and handed it to Iris who alongside Prompto went to help with healing the others. Gladio approached Cor and took in his appearance. Cor the Immortal was pretty banged up himself, but only with minor cuts and bruises, but he seemed very tired. Clapping him on the back Gladio said

“Hey old man it looks like you faired pretty well. You’re still holding onto the title of Cor the immortal.”

Cor laughed

“Don’t call me old I don’t need to be reminded of how much I’m aging.”

Gladio chuckled then turned serious

“Everyone looks pretty banged up. Were there any fatalities?”

“No, but some of the men along with Ignis were taken by the Arachne. We can only hope they’re holding their own for now.”

Aranea noticed Gladio and limped her way over to him.

“Hey Aranea you look like hell.”

“Psh thanks I feel like hell, but that potion I just took is helping. Listen before your chew me a new one I’m sorry about Ignis. I should’ve stayed by his side the whole time.”

Gladio let out a sigh

“It’s ok. He’s not a baby who needs to be looked after he can take care of himself. He went on the hunt knowing it would be dangerous. Unfortunately shit happens that we don’t expect and that’s the hardest part about going on hunts.”

Aranea and Cor were shocked by his response. 

“Wow I was expecting you to threaten my life and chew me a new one.”

Cor chuckled and added

“Yeah. I see someone who looks like Gladiolus, but doesn’t sound like him. What happened?”

Gladio smiled

“Very funny you two. Lets just say two very good friends straightened me out and made me realize some things.”

He looked over at Iris and Prompto who were adamantly attending to the wounded. Cor clapped Gladio on the back and said

“Good I’m glad someone was able to get through that thick skull of yours.”

Aranea adding

“Yeah who knew there was a brain in that head of yours.”

Gladio smirked 

“Shut up.”

Cor getting serious said

“All joking aside once the men have all been seen too we’ll formulate a plan to rescue Ignis. Just have patience I know you want to get him back as soon as possible, but these things take time.”

Gladio nodded as the knot in his stomach continued to grow. His worry for Ignis grew with every passing second but he was trying to keep it under wraps.

Aranea then commented

“Poor Ignis, what a shitty birthday this has turned out to be. He won’t even get to enjoy his surprise party.”

“Yeah tell me about it. He suffered through an argument with me and now this. I didn’t even get to give him his gift.”

“Well he’ll be back in your arms in no time and you can make out until you pass out.”

Both Gladio and Cor turned bright red. Most people who knew about him and Ignis, but hearing someone else talk about it openly was embarrassing. Gladio cleared his throat and answered with a plain

“Yeah.”

The three of them began to help with healing and bandaging the wounded. It took some time but soon everyone was on the mend. Dave gathered those who could still fight and began the discussion of how to save Ignis and the rest of the men. 

“Gladio and Prompto I’ve been told by Aranea that you have been to the location Ignis and the men are being held at. What can you tell us?”

Gladio spoke first

“It’s full of beasts and demons a like and the tomb itself was heavily guarded by a giant beast.”

Prompto adding

“Yeah it was massive! But no worries we took care of it and had dino meat for dinner that night!”

Gladio smiled but said

“My point is it’s not going to be easy to get through. Back then it was heavily populated and guarded I can’t imagine what it’s like now, but there is a bright side. There’s a haven in there. If we can reach it we’ll have a safe place to stay and make a base camp out of.”

“Yeah and it had an awesome fishing spot too! Noct caught SO many fish out of that pond.”

“Our best option is to send our best fighters deep within and have a base of guards to keep the entrance of Myrlywood clear. That way we can make a fast escape.”

Dave took a minute to think things over and finally said

“Altogether not counting ourselves we have 5 men who are able to fight still. The first set of four hunters are still missing and now we have 7 additional hunters missing not including Ignis. There are also 8 who can’t fight because they were so badly injured. You, Prompto, Cor, and Iris will go to the inner sanctum of the woods. Aranea since you are still hurt you and I will join the men in keeping the entrance ready for a quick exit.”

Aranea didn’t protest. 

“I don’t want to slow us down so I’m fine with keeping the entrance clear.”

“Good. We leave in three hours.”

Gladio’s eyes grew wide

“Three hours?! We need to leave now!”

Dave looked at him solemnly

“I understand how you feel Gladio. I’m worried about Ignis and my men too, but the remaining hunters need to rest. We’ve been at this for hours plus we just finished a tough battle. Please be patient it’s all I ask.”

“You know what that’s fine I understand, but I’m raring to go. You guys can stay here and rest, but I going. You can catch up when you you’re ready.”

Gladio made a beeline towards the chocobos with Prompto and Iris following close behind. Prompto catching up to him said

“We’re coming too.”

Gladio looked at them and nodded 

“Then let’s get going.”

As they were preparing three chocobos Cor walked over to them.

“I’m coming too. You can use as much help as you can get.”

Gladio looked Cor up and down and said

“You should stay here and rest for awhile. You look like hell.”

“I’m fine besides I can rest at the haven.”

“Have it your way just don’t blame me if you get killed.”

Cor nodded and got his chocobo ready. Soon they mounted their steeds and trotted over to Dave. Gladio then said

“Myrlywood is north of where Ignis and Aranea were. Just take the winding path up and you should find it.”

Dave nodded and said

“Be safe. Call if anything changes.”

Gladio nodded then led the way into the tunnels. It took almost 2 hours for them to reach Myrlywood the area was teeming with demons. Getting off of their chocobos Gladio summoned his sword and stated 

“If you wanna team up stay close otherwise stay behind me.”

Leading the way in Gladio cautiously looked around with Prompto beside him. It was pitch black with only patches of moonlight to illuminate the area. The air was thick with tension and as silent as a grave. Gladio whispered

“It’s a little too quiet.”

Suddenly a branch snapped and Gladio yelled

“WATCH OUT!” 

Gladio pushed Prompto out of the way and sliced an Arachne in half. It screamed as it died, but 5 more appeared. Prompto pointing his gun was ready to shoot if they attacked and said 

“Don’t panic.”

Gladio chuckling darkly

“Well at least we know Iggy was right.”

With the last word leaving his lips the Arachne attacked. Gladio and company sprang into action each effectively taking down their opponents, but as each one was taken down another appeared along with its minions. After fighting tirelessly for a half hour Prompto shouted

“Are we doomed? I think we’re doomed!”

Gladio then said as he chopped down another arachne

“It’s been nice knowing you guys.”

Iris effectively took out two at once and said 

“Don’t give up just yet. Just keep pushing!”

When the fighting was reaching an hour Cor spoke up

“We can’t go on like this there are too many. We need to make a break for it!’

Gladio yelled back 

“You’re right! Prompto fire a gravisphere then lets book it.”

“Got it!” yelled Prompto

After finishing off two Arachne minions he fired one off. The dozens of Arachne in the area were suddenly sucked into the gravisphere he just shot off several struggling to break free. Seeing that is worked Gladio yelled

“Follow me!”

They took off at full speed following close behind. Everywhere they looked demons appeared. Chopping down several smaller demons on the way they finally hit the fork in the road and took the left path. Finally the haven was within in reach. Gladio stepping aside let the others go into the safe barrier first. Prompto dropped to the ground exhausted while Cor and Iris hunched over trying to catch their breath. Gladio killed a handful more of demons before he stepped into the barrier. Wiping demon blood from his face he observed several demons trying to break the barrier, but had no luck. Releasing a sigh of relief Gladio turned to the others.

“I’ll take the first watch the rest of you get some sleep.” 

As Cor and Iris gathered around the magical fire without a word of protest Prompto popped up and said

“I can help stand guard, I’m not that tired.”

“You can take the 2nd watch, for now I need you to rest. I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.”

Prompto wanted to say more, but he knew there was no point in arguing with Gladio.

“Okay, but if you need anything wake me up.”

“You can count on it.”

Prompto joined the other two and laid down on his back hands behind his head on the side of the fire closest to Gladio. Gladio stood in the inner edge of the barrier his back to the fire.  
Noticing Cor and Iris were already asleep Prompto said quietly

“Too bad we don’t have a tent.”

Gladio chuckling said

“This brings back memories doesn’t it?”

Prompto smiling gently said

“It sure does buddy, it sure does. The first time we visited this place Iris was with us. That road trip was the best time of my life well until we got to Altissia. Everything went to hell once Leviathan showed up. When we get Iggy back and Noct returns AND we’ve taken back the throne maybe we can go on another road trip.”

“Yeah fat chance, but maybe.”

After a moment of silence Prompto said quietly, but with certainty 

“Don’t worry we’ll get both Iggy and Noct back.”

Still facing away from Prompto Gladio smiling sadly said

“I know. Now get some sleep Prompto.”

Soon all Gladio could hear from Prompto were little snores matching the other two. Gladio stood and watched as several demons tried to break the barrier, but had no luck. After a couple of hours most lost interest and slunk back into the shadows. Finally feeling he could ease up a little Gladio took a seat. As he sat in silence listening to the fire crackle his thoughts turned to Ignis and his worry flared up again. Making sure everyone was still asleep he pulled a well-worn photo of him and Ignis that Prompto had taken 10 years ago. He smiled tenderly as he looked at the photo of them both laughing and giving each other a high five.

Looking around at the campsite visions of things they did here 10 years ago flashed before his eyes. He could remember vividly the huge fish Noct caught, how he struggled to reel it in sweat forming on his brow. The smell of Ignis’s cooking from that night and how he prepared the fish perfectly. He could still remember the name and scent of every spice Ignis used on the fish for that dinner. It had been one of his favorite dishes that Ignis had ever made. He remembered looking at the stars and how they shone beautifully in the sky that night. Lastly, he remembered how Ignis curled up in his arms that night. His silky-smooth hair smelled like smoke, spices, and cologne. The smell was so enticing he couldn’t get enough of it and buried his nose in Ignis’ hair as he snuggled him close.

“Those were the days.”

He said quietly to himself

Carefully putting the photo back in his pocket Gladio settled in for a long night whispering 

“Don’t worry Iggy I’m on my way.”


	6. SACRIFICE

Ignis awoke to the sound of screaming. He could tell the screaming was coming from a hunter and from the sound of it was being wrapped up in a web. He could feel the webbing around his own body and it went all the way up to his neck. Squirming around he figured out he was on the ground and that his hunting knife was still strapped to his leg, but his glasses were gone. 

'I need to free myself and as many of the hunters as I can. I believe I can reach my knife if I try hard enough. I must wait for the most opportune moment. Perhaps the Arachne will sleep soon then I can try my best to locate the hunters.' He thought to himself.

The screaming soon turned into a muffled noise meaning the hunter was fully wrapped in the Arachne’s webbing. Afterwards it grew rather quiet just as he had hoped it would. Whether that meant the Arachne were asleep or not he did not know. He waited awhile longer then began to squirm in his webbing. It felt like thick sticky cords of rope were tied around him, which made it next to impossible to move. It took a lot of effort, but finally he was able to reach his knife. Carefully he started to saw away at the webs and stopped only when he heard movement. Once free he stood up and instantly felt dizzy. He started to fall back, but thankfully discovered he was near a tree and leaned against it. Placing a hand on the side of his temple he could feel a large bump. 

'It must be from when I was sent flying by one of the Arachne. Well at least the bleeding has stopped. I can’t say the rest of my body has faired well though. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and then run over several times.'

From head to toe his body was wracked with pain. He could tell all the fighting he had done had done a number on him and he could feel the full effects of his previous knee and arm injuries. He knew if he rested too long he wasn’t going to be able to move. 

'It seems the Arachne did not handle me with care as they transported me while I was incapacitated. Somehow, I must work through this and locate as many hunters as I can. I fear the Arachne won’t be silent for long I must act fast.'

He took a moment to steady himself then began to feel around. With unfamiliar surroundings, he stumbled often and finally tripped over a large log that let out a small noise. Confused he inspected the log and quickly discovered that he had not been sitting alone. Based on feel he could tell it was a human who was still breathing and to his surprise whispered.

“Ignis is that you?! It’s me Levi the hunter that picked you up at Lestallum.”

Relieved to hear Levi’s voice he replied

“Yes, it’s me I will free you in just a moment so please bare with me.”

He carefully began to cut away at the web and soon Levi was free. He helping Levi to a sitting position asked

“Are you alright? Where are we?”

“Damn it I think so, but I feel like hell. We seem to be where you predicted the nest would be. I can see a royal tomb from here, but it’s covered in Arachne web. Those damn bastards poisoned several of the other hunters before wrapping them up. I on the other hand passed out on the way here. Damn it! I hope Ren is alright.”

“What else can you tell me about our surroundings? There is a safe haven in this forest. If we can free as many of the hunters as we can and make for the haven we can devise a plan once we have arrived. The haven has an enchantment placed upon it so not a single demon can step foot on it.”

“It’s dark as fuck with only a little moonlight peeking through the trees. From what I can tell we are surrounded by several Arachne, but they appear to be sleeping. There are bodies of all shapes and sizes wrapped in webbing and hanging from the trees.

Levi pausing for a moment took a deep breath and said with a heavy weight in his voice

“None of them are moving. It seems all the hunters that went missing from before are dead. We were too late. However, there are a few that were just wrapped like us and not that far away.”

“Can you please guide me and help me free as many of them as possible.”

“Hell yeah! We need to get out of this piece of shit place. Can you help me to my feet?”

Ignis grabbing Levi’s arm helped him stand. Levi seemed to be in a much better condition than himself and recovered much faster. Levi taking hold of Ignis’s injured arm caused him to wince.

“You alright?”

“It’s just an injury from a previous hunt about a week ago. It still hasn’t fully healed, but no worries I shall be fine. Let us press on.”

“Alright. Let’s find Ren and the others and get the hell out of here fast. This place gives me the creeps.”

“Agreed.”

Ignis smiled to himself. He always found Levi to be an interesting man. He was short for his age, but that didn’t hinder his fighting and hunting capabilities. Ignis had been on many hunts with Levi over the years and always found him to be to the point, harsh, blunt, a man of action as well as few words - usually. He believed this had to do with his rather rough upbringing. The only person he ever showed true kindness to was a young teen named Ren who followed him everywhere. He felt bad for the poor boy since he lost both of his parents at a young age. If Levi hadn’t taken him in the poor boy probably would’ve died since he was all alone in this world. As Ren grew he even became a hunter to stay by Levi’s side. He would even dare say that Levi dotted on Ren and worried about him far too much, but then again, he was always the first to give Ren an ass kicking when he did or didn’t need it. Ignis found these two to be quite charming.

Levi gently tugged on Ignis’s arm signaling it was time to move. They carefully and quietly made their way to two other bodies. Ren was the first one found and he burst into tears upon being set free and wrapping his arms around Levi’s neck. Despite Levi’s silence as he returned the hug Ignis could tell he was relieved to have found Ren ok and in one piece. This reminded him of Noctis and how often he worried him in the past. Pushing the fond thoughts of his king aside they made their way to two more bodies. 

It was too quiet and Ignis could feel a chill go down his back. He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. The next 4 hunters they found were unfortunately dead so they took his dog tags to give to Dave to give to their families. The last hunter they found was absolutely terrified and upon being released from her cocoon began to scream. Levi tried his best to silence her by cupping his hand over her mouth, but the damage was done. The area became alive and the Arachne were beginning to close in. Ren grabbing hold of Ignis’s hand pulled him forward as they ran towards the exit.

Ignis could hear scuttling feet all around him and they were closing in. He stumbled often, but managed to stay on his feet, but knew that if something wasn’t done soon none of them would escape. He let go of Ren’s hand and turned around brandishing his weapons that he could once again summon now that he was free.

“Ignis! Come back!”

Ren yelled causing the other two to stop.

“I’m sorry Ren, but I can’t do that. If one of us doesn’t stay behind to fight none of us will make it back alive.”

Levi stepped forward in front of Ren and calmly asked

“Are you sure about this? We only have a couple of seconds before they’re on us.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Please give Gladio and Prompto my deepest apologies and my warmest regards. I’m afraid I won’t be returning this time. Now go.”

“I will. Best of luck Ignis.”

He then grabbed Ren’s hand and urged him and the girl to follow him. Ren struggled and yelled

“We can’t leave him behind! Gladio will never forgive us! If it were me out there you wouldn’t leave me behind and neither would Gladio! He’s our friend we can’t leave him!

Frustrated Levi yelled

“I KNOW! We don’t have time for this!”

Ren was about to retort but Levi punched him hard in the stomach and threw him over his shoulder. Ren took in several breaths unable to speak. Levi then looking over at Ignis and said

“I’m sorry. I promise we will come back with Gladiolus and Prompto as soon as we can.”

He then grabbed the girl’s hand and began to run. Ignis let out a sigh of relief knowing that they were on their way. It wasn’t long after Levi and the rest exited the area that the Arachne caught up. Bracing himself Ignis stood his ground.

I mustn’t let any pass through. I have to give Levi time to get to the haven. It is likely he will run into trouble on the way so I must buy him as much time as possible.

Two Arachne approached him at the same time. He jumped into the air and switched to his lance landing forcibly onto one of the Arachne’s back causing it to scream. He soon silenced it with a lance through the head. He switched back to his knives and threw one through the head of the 2nd Arachne and another into the abdomen of a third. Resummoning his lance the knives disappeared and he stabbed the third through the heart. He carried on like this for several minutes and with each blow felt pain surge through his body. If it weren’t for the adrenaline rush he would have been knocked down at the beginning of the fight. 

Killing his 6th Arachne while dodging an electric shock from another he was caught by surprise by a 7th hiding in the shadows. It struck him and pinned him against a tree. Struggling to get free and stabbing it with his free hand he suddenly felt several teeth sink into his neck. Shock hit him as he felt acidic deadly poison being injected into his veins. He instantly began to feel sluggish and as the arachne released him he fell to his knees. He could hear them rushing down the path and heading towards the haven. 

He took several deep breaths and tried to stand but it was no use. The poison was working fast and he could feel his body going numb. He slumped down onto his side his breath becoming shaky. As he bled out from his neck he could hear screaming far in the distance from the girl hunter from before. He felt defeated and knew his time had come and felt himself begin to sink deeper and deeper into the darkness.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“GLADIO WAKE UP!!”

Gladio heard Prompto yell and felt him roughly shake him.

Groggily he rolled over and without opening his eyes said

“What is it? Is it time for my watch again?”

It was then that he heard a girl scream and Iris yell

“WAKE UP GLADDY! WE NEED YOU!”

He instantly sat up and got to his feet sword appearing in his hand. 

“IRIS! WHAT’S WRONG?”

His vision came into focus and he saw Cor and Iris fighting several Arachne alongside two other hunters. He recognized them as Levi and Ren two of the hunters that had gone missing. Prompto was closer to him and was trying to shield a girl who was screaming. An Arachne jumped in front of Prompto suddenly and was about to stab him. Leaping into action Gladio jumped in front of Prompto summoning his shield and blocking the attack. With a counter strike the Arachne was stabbed through the chest and slumped over in death.

Gladio heard Prompto tell the girl everything was going to be alright then say to him

“Thanks buddy I can always count on you.”

“No prob now get her in the barrier I’m going to help Iris and Cor.”

“Ok I’ll be right there!”

Once joining the fight he and the others made quick work of the Arachne, but more slowly trickled in along with other demons. Iris after taking a horde of goblins down alongside Ren was suddenly struck down by an Arachne and sent flying into Levi.

“IRIS! LEVI!”

Ren yelled as he rushed towards them to help. The Arachne was closing in and he knew he wouldn’t make it in time. Gladio in the nick of time blocked the attack with his shield and struck it down with a vengeance.

“GET BACK TO THE HAVEN!”

Iris nodded in thanks to Gladio and Levi helped her to her feet. Cor, Ren, and Prompto were soon by their sides and started towards the haven. Gladio alongside Prompto watched their backs blocking attacks and striking back when they could. Once back in the barrier Gladio grabbed Iris up in a bear hug.

“Are you alright?!”

He asked as he put his sister at arms length to inspect her. She had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious.

“I’m fine Gladdy thank you.”

He grabbed her in another hug relieved she was ok. She hugged him back but then said half heartedly 

“Stop Gladdy you’re embarrassing me.”

“Hey, you maybe 25 now, but you will always be my little sister. I’m always going to worry about you.”

He released her from the hug and she smiled up at him saying

“Yeah I know.”

The girl hunter began to scream again as the demons tried to get in the barrier. Ren rushed over to calm her down as did Prompto, but neither were being affective.  
Gladio asked

“Levi what’s wrong with her?”

“Pssh I don’t know. She must have cracked under the pressure.”

Iris then asked 

“She doesn’t look familiar is she new?”

Ren answered instead as Prompto cooed her

“Yes, she’s only been a hunter for a few weeks. This was her first big hunt.”

No matter what Ren or Prompto did she wouldn’t calm down which only spurred on the demons. Levi having had enough cupped a hand over her mouth looked her in the eyes and threatened

“If you don’t stop screaming I will throw you out of this barrier. You can then scream until your heart is content or until it stops due to all those demons tearing you apart. Am I clear?”

The girl began to cry, but nodded. Levi removed his hand as Gladio commented

“I see you’re as harsh as ever. No beating around the bush with you.”

Prompto then scolded

“Dude you don’t have to be so harsh. I know that’s your thing, but still.” 

Ren nodded and said disapprovingly

“ Yeah Levi! Just like I said this was her first hunt. Shes only 14 give her a break.”

“Yeah well you’re 15 and you’ve been a hunter since you were 12. You’ve never screamed like that. Well at least not on the battle field anyway.”

Everyone, but Cor and Levi blushed as the sentence hung in the air. Ren stood and looked at Levi his brows furrowed, arms crossed, and a pout on his face. Levi sighed in defeat and said facing away from Ren.

“I’m sorry, but it’s what needed to be done. It’s because of her that we got caught back there and Ignis needed to stay behind.”

Gladio’s ears perked up and his eyes grew wide. Before he could utter a word Ren yelled

“That’s right! We have to save Ignis!!”

Gladio grabbed Ren around the shoulders and asked impatiently

“What happened?! Where is he?!”

“He rescued the three of us! We were able to stay quiet , but-”

Levi cut in

“This bitch started screaming after we cut her out of the cocoon she was in then we had to make a run for it.”

Ren then added

“He stayed behind to give us a chance to get away. He knew we wouldn’t make it unless one of us slowed the Arachne down. He was pretty injured so I don’t know how long he’ll last. H-he wanted us to give you his deepest apologies and warmest regards because he didn’t think he was coming back. We have to rescue him!”

Gladio clenched his teeth then said with a grimace

“Yeah that sounds like Iggy. A saint until the end.”

Levi then stated 

“Ain’t that the truth. That guy pushes himself too far. He’s back near the royal tomb. If you go quickly he might still be alive, but don’t count on it.”

Ren shouted disapprovingly

“LEVI! Don’t say such things.”

Gladio glared at Levi and so did Prompto as he joined Gladio’s side saying

“He may be blind, but as you’ve seen time and time again he isn’t helpless! He’s an excellent fighter! He has to be alive!”

Gladio then said matter-o-factly

“He will be alive.”

Levi sighed 

“For your sake I hope so.”

Cor for the first time since entering the barrier spoke up

“Gladio and Prompto you two go help Ignis. Iris and I will escort these three to Dave. I got a call from him earlier and he and Aranea are in place near the entrance. We will join you with whatever reinforcements we can, so just hang in there until then.”

Gladio nodded

“Alright let’s move out.”

Prompto nodded and stated

“On the count of three we jump out guns blazing!”

Gladio smirked 

“Hell yeah!”

Both summoned their weapons with Cor and Iris telling them to be careful. Prompto gave them a thumbs up and then faced the barrier. The demons had backed away and were waiting for them.

“1, 2, 3!”

Both jumped out at the same time and charged taking down as many as they could while slowy heading in the direction of the royal tomb and Ignis. As they rounded the corner of the fork in the road Gladio spotted something on the ground. Stopping to pick it up he realized it was Ignis’s glasses.

“Prompto we’re close!” 

both then yelled

“WE’RE COMING IGGY!!”


	7. A FAMILIAR FACE

 

Ignis felt like he was floating. He couldn’t feel much of his body anymore and began to welcome the darkness as he began to feel deaths cold and numbing embrace. It was silent except for his slowing heartbeat. He felt like he was falling ever deeper into the darkness and for the first time wasn’t afraid of it. Gladio’s smiling face came to mind and he suddenly felt a tear rush down his cheek. He shakily wiped it away.

“I didn’t think I had anymore of these left. How I wish I could see his face one more time, but alas even if he did appear I wouldn’t be able to. I wish I could fall deep into his chocolate brown eyes and soak in his warm sunny smile once more.”

More tears began to fall.

“I do hope he and Prompto can forgive me for bowing out early. Highness I hope you can forgive me as well. I wish I could be there for when you return and for when you take the throne back from that despicable Ardyn.”

A smile crossed his face as he said

“You will make a just and fine king. One your father would have been proud of. One I would be proud of.”

A coughing attack hit him, the poison doing taking affect. Pain surged through his body making him wince. A dark laugh escaped his lips as he said

“Please forgive me your highness, but I think it’s time for this servant to have a long rest.”

His consciousness began to fade and he openly welcomed deaths icy embrace until he heard

Ignis

He thought it was his mind playing tricks on him until he heard the voice again, but this time louder. 

IGNIS!

Shock filled his body as he recognized the voice. Fresh new tears filling his eyes.

“I’d recognize that voice anywhere! Noctis! Where are you?!”

A bright light suddenly filled Ignis’s vision. He winced shielding his eyes. Suddenly in the black void a figure was walking towards him, then a hand stretched out to him from the light. He gladly took it and stood up not believing what he was seeing. Bathed in gold light there stood Noctis. Tears ran over Ignis’s face like waterfalls. He grabbed Noctis up in a tight hug Noctis gladly returning it. Overjoyed Ignis stated.

“Noct! You’re here and I can see you! Does that mean I’ve passed on?”

Noctis chuckled and pulled out of the hug.

No you’re not dead, not yet anyway. The crystal is granting you a small temporary gift of sight. I’m sorry it can’t be permanent. 

“Does this mean you’ve returned? You don’t look any different from the day you left us. Has the crystal stopped you from aging?”

A sad smile crossed Noctis’s face.

Not yet, but soon. The crystal didn’t stop me from aging I look quite different now, but I chose to show you a familiar face. I don’t think you’d recognize me otherwise. Anyway, I’ll be back soon that’s why you have to hang on. I’m going to need you and the others by my side when I do. I can’t do this without you, or Gladio, or Prompto. I need all of you to be by my side. You guys are what gives me strength and has kept me going all this time. So please hold on a little longer help is on the way.

“I do hope you have been fairing well in your time of absence. For your own sake have you been eating at least a few vegetables?”

Noctis laughed shyly

“Nope I can’t say that I’ve had any of those – especially beans.”

Ignis sighed 

“You can’t blame me for hoping. I guess a tiger truly does not change their stripes.”

Suddenly Noctis began to glow making Ignis realize he had to leave. Sadness crept back into his heart as he asked

“Time to leave already?”

Yeah. The crystal only granted me a few minutes and those few minutes were just enough. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer Iggy. I miss you and the guys a lot.

The light began to envelope him and he soon started to disappear. New tears came to Ignis’s eyes as he reached out towards Noct

“Don’t go not yet.”

Noctis smiled sadly tears filling his own eyes

I’m sorry Ignis have patience. I will see you soon. Oh and tell Prompto to print a new picture of me. That one he has is all bent and gross. Tell him he can take a new one of me when I return.

Ignis for the first time in ages let out a wholehearted laugh

“It’ll break his heart to throw it away, but I’ll pass the message along.”

Thanks. Walk tall my friend.

With that Ignis’s world turned dark once again. It was quiet until he heard the sound of metal hitting flesh.

“Ignis.”

He thought he heard his name from a distance.

“Ignis!”

This time for sure he thought he heard it, but closer. Confused he asked very weakly

“Noct is that you?”

“IGNIS!!”

This time was positive he heard his name much louder. It was then that he realized someone was shaking his body. Finally recognizing the voice he realized it was Gladio. A smile crossed his face as he said weakly, but full of joy

“Gladio.”

Gladio quickly pulled Ignis’s into a bear hug and buried his face in Ignis’s hair.

“Thank the gods! With all that blood I thought you were dead.”

“Only half dead.”

Ignis felt a rain drop hit the top of his head. Confused he asked

“Is it raining?”

“Yes, it’s raining.”

Gladio sniffled giving away the cause of the rain. A gentle smile crossed Ignis’s face.

“Ah I see.”

He grabbed Gladio’s arm and held onto it with all his strength. He then heard gunshots and footsteps fast approaching. He then heard Prompto say

“I can’t hold them back anymore there are too many of them! Let’s hide in the royal tomb.”

“Alright, lets go.”

Overjoyed to hear that Prompto came to rescue him as well Ignis said as loud as he could

“Prompto.”

A huge smile crossed Prompto’s face, tears of his own in his eyes from seeing his friend so battered and bruised. He took Ignis’s free hand and squeezed it.

“Hey buddy! We gotcha! We made it just in time so hang in there!”

Ignis felt his body being raised from the ground and quickly moved. He heard several more gunshots then the sound of something being blasted off. The next thing heard was the scrapping of stone as it slid across the ground realizing it was the sound of the tomb door opening. Prompto then said

“I shot off a gravisphere and a flare. That should hold them off for awhile so get in.”

They all entered then tomb. Gladio gently set Ignis down off to the side saying 

“I’ll be right back. Prompto stay with him.”

“Will do. I’m here Iggy.”

Ignis felt Prompto take his hand again then heard the sound of something very heavy being moved. Gladio was pushing the door shut then walked over to a nearby statue. To Gladio’s surprise it wasn’t built into the wall so he summoned all his might and dragged the heavy statue in front of the door.

“That should work for awhile.”

Prompto then said

“Gladio do you have any antidote?! I’m all out! I think Iggy has been poisoned. He’s shaking like a leaf and the skin around the bite marks on his neck are purple and there are purple streaks running from them.”

Gladio rushed over to them and took his light off of him and inspected the bites himself. They were very swollen oozing pus and green fluids. Ignis felt Gladio touch the bites and winced.

“Yeah these are definitely Arachne bites. They’ve already started to fester and fill with pus. He has a fever brewing too.”

“We have to get an antidote in him now!!”

Gladio dug through his bag and pulled out two antidotes and half a bottle of water.

“Prompto we have to get the excess pus and fluids out of the bites. Do you have anymore water or towels?”

Prompto dumped his bag and had a couple of bandages, 1 towel, and even less water than Gladio. 

“I don’t have much. I used most of my supplies and yours back on the hunters at the old HQ.”

“It’s enough. Hand over all you’ve got.”

Prompto gave him the stuff then Gladio grabbed an antidote and propped Ignis up against his shoulder so his forehead was right next to his chin with one arm wrapped around Iggy’s waist. He popped the cap off of the antidote and asked

“Iggy do you think you can drink this by yourself?”

Sweat was now beading on Ignis’s forehead. He was barely keeping his self awake. No louder than a whisper he answered 

“No.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Gladio poured the antidote into his mouth then threw the bottle. Grabbing hold of Ignis’s chin he opened his mouth then kissed him slowly letting out the antidote a little at a time. Once it was all down Ignis’s throat Gladio released the kiss and wiped the excess antidote off his lips. Ignis went into a small coughing fit, but it quickly stopped.

Gladio smiled sadly and said

“ He already looks a little better, but we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Prompto then stood up.

“Im gonna check the door.”

He quietly walked over to it and looked out the keyhole.

“It looks like the flare and gravisphere worked. The ones that are still out there look confused as to where we are.”

“Good lets keep it that way. Now come over here I need you to hold him up and help me get his shirt off.”

Prompto hurried over and held Iggy up as Gladio unbuttoned and took off Ignis’s blood stained white shirt. With the shirt off Gladio noticed just how beat up Ignis was. He had many small cuts, but his chest and torso were mostly black and blue. Even most of the kiss marks he had left on Ignis’s milky white skin were now hidden under dark blues and purples.

“Wow Iggy I can tell you put up one hell of a fight.”

“You should see the other guy.”

He said weakly with a small pained smile

“I bet you beat the shit out of him.”

The sentence was strained as he was fighting back tears. He could feel them rising to the top, but quickly wiped them away. He heard a sniffle and looked into Prompto’s eyes to see he was tearing up too meaning Ignis’s backside wasn’t much different. Gladio laid Ignis down ontp Prompto’s lap with the bites facing up. His breathing was still ragged, the shaking hadn’t stopped, and sweat was pouring down his face and chest.

“Iggy I need to drain the pus and fluid out of the bites. If they burst they might cause an infection. They’ve already started to seal up so I need to cut them open. Can you please summon one of your knives? It will make this a lot easier.”

Ignis nodded and raised a very shaky hand. After a moment a knife appeared. Prompto handed it to Gladio. Gladio took it then ripped the towel in half handing one half to Prompto.  
He looked at it questioningly. Gladio frowned as he said 

“Shove this in his mouth if he starts to scream. We can’t let the demons figure out we’re here any sooner than they already will.”

Prompto’s eyes grew wide, but he understood and with a grimace took the towel. Gladio put a little water on his half of the towel and wiped the knife off. Looking Prompto in the eyes he said

“Make sure he doesn’t move. There are 12 bites. The little ones shouldn’t take much time to drain, but the bigs where she sunk her canines in are deep. He’s going to squirm a lot.”

Getting the knife in position Gladio said

“Alright Iggy I’m gonna drain the bites. This is going to hurt a lot, I’m sorry.”

Ignis gave a slight nod to show he understood. Gladio gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and said

“On the count of one. 3…2”

On “2” Prompto tightened his grip on Ignis.

“1!”

Gladio started to cut the smaller ones on the top row first causing Ignis to let out small little whimpers. Blood, pus, and green fluid started to run down his neck more.

“You’re doing great so far Iggy now I’m gonna start pinching them.”

Gladio took a deep breath and began to pinch and massage the bites getting all the fluids out. Ignis clenched his teeth, but still whimpers of pain escaped his lips. Gladio made quick work of them and stopped pinching when the liquid was clear. Gladio picked up the knife again and placed it over what looked like the biggest and most swollen of all the bites, which was closest to Ignis’s jaw line.

“Alright Iggy brace yourself. This one is going to really hurt.”

Ignis grabbed Prompto’s free hand. Prompto squeezing his hand in return then Gladio started to counting down.

“ 3…2…1!”

He cut it open and a large strand of pus shot into the air. Ignis cried out and tried to muffle it. Prompto squeezed his hand and said

“You’re doing so good Iggy.”

Placing the knife down Gladio slowly got his hands in place ready to pinch. Looking up at Prompto, Prompto nodded to show he was ready. Gladio then began to squeeze. Huge amounts of pus, blood, and fluids began to leak out. This time Ignis couldn’t hold back his screams and let out a loud wail every time Gladio applied pressure.

“Prompto!”

Prompto grimaced then let go of Iggy’s hand and got the towel.

“I’m so sorry Iggy.”

He then shoved it into Ignis’s mouth effectively muffling his cries. Tears were streaming down Ignis’s face. Gladio’s heart was breaking, he hated seeing Ignis in pain. Looking up he saw that Prompto was a crying mess as well, his poor gentle heart could barely handle this.

“Pull yourself together Prompto I need you to stay focused.” 

Prompto nodded and wiped away his tears. 

Even though Ignis’s body had been numb with the antidote in his system it was beginning to come back to life and every squeeze Gladio gave his neck felt like torture. He couldn’t take the pain much longer and in his fevered haze reached his hand up to stop Gladio, but Prompto quickly grabbed hold of it and said several times

“I’m sorry Iggy. I’m sorry Iggy.”

It took a couple of minutes to get all of the junk out of the bite, Ignis crying out the whole time but the towel was muffling his voice. Towards the end Prompto started to coo Ignis and squeeze his hand. 

“Shh it’s ok Iggy. He’s almost done. Only a couple more to go. Shh.”

This process took over an hour to do and by the end of it Gladio and Prompto had tear stained faces and were emotionally drained. It nearly killed them to watch Ignis go through so much pain. After all the fluids were out Gladio carefully poured water over the bites and gently wiped them off with his half of the towel. 

“Prompto you can take the towel out of his mouth now.”

As Prompto did so he noticed patches of fresh blood all over the towel. His eyes grew wide. 

“Iggy did you bite your tongue?!”

Ignis didn’t answer, but laid there breathing shakily and shallowly. He was in so much pain he couldn’t find his voice. Gladio took the towel from him and said.

“It’s probably from clenching his teeth.”

Gladio turned Ignis’s head towards him and opened his mouth. 

“There’s a cut on his tongue and a few on his cheeks. I’m sorry Iggy. You did everything you could to stay quiet until I was done.”

After pouring a little bit of antidote onto each bite Gladio then wrapped Ignis’s neck. Afterwards Prompto helped put Ignis’s shirt back on him. Laying Ignis flat on the ground Gladio stood up and to his relief noticed Ignis was passed out. His body was still shaking, but his breathing was more relaxed. Letting out a deep sigh he realized just how exhausted he was. With a quick stretch he said 

“Prompto check the door I’m gonna call Cor.”

Nodding slowly without even looking at him Prompto got up and walked to the door. He could tell Prompto was just as mentally and physically exhausted as he was. He got a thumbs up from him after checking the door to say it was secure. Somberly Prompto walked over to Ignis and sat down against the wall putting his head on his knees and wrapping his arms around them. Gladio called Cor and who answered on the third ring. 

“Gladio?”

“Hey where are you guys? Iggy is in really bad shape. He was bitten and poisoned by an Arachne. I just spent the last hour draining his bites. The antidote we gave him is helping, but it’s not enough. He needs medical attention.”

“I’m sorry, you sound exhausted. We made it back to Dave, but just barely. That girls screams and the cries of the Arachne brought a lot of other demons out. A hunter took the girl back to HQ and the rest of us barely made it back to the haven. We are running very low on supplies and are exhausted ourselves. Dave is calling for emergency help, but it’s gonna take awhile for them to reach us. Where are you guys?”

“We’re holed up in the tomb. I barred the door, but the demons haven’t figured out where we are yet.”

“Well sit tight, then again I guess that’s all you can do. We’ll be there as soon as we can. How’s your phone battery doing?”

“It’s almost dead and Im sure Prompto’s is too.”

Prompto gave him another thumbs up.

“Well don’t use it unless something crazy happens. It looks like you’re gonna be in there for awhile.”

“Great. We have no food and very little water. This is perfect.”

“At most you’ll be in there a night. Hang in there.”

“Yeah you too.”

*click*

Gladio walked over to Ignis and carefully picked him up then joined Prompto against the wall. He propped Ignis’s head up against his shoulder and said.

“Well it looks like we’re stuck for awhile so get comfortable.”

He felt Ignis stir and very quietly say 

“Water.”

Prompto got up and handed Gladio what was left of the water, which wasn’t much. 

“This is the last of it Iggy so drink it all.”

Gladio then poured the rest of the water into his mouth and gave it to him the same way he did the antidote. Ignis greedily swallowed the water and even licked the inside of Gladio’s mouth trying to get every drop. Blushing slightly Gladio broke the kiss and wiped his face as Prompto said

“Poor guy, his throat must hurt from screaming and crying. Plus who knows when the last time was he ate or drank something.”

“Like the rest of us he probably hasn’t eaten since brunch yesterday.”

“I could really go for some of Iggy’s homemade food right about now.” 

A very small smile crept across Ignis’s face from hearing Prompto say that causing Prompto to smile and say

“Get some sleep Ignis. You need it.”

Within seconds his breathing changed and he was out. Gladio shifted him a little bit to make him more comfortable then said. 

“We should all get some shut eye. Who knows when those demons are gonna bust down that door.”

“Don’t even say that!”

After a moment they both went quiet. They were completely and utterly exhausted and sleep easily overtook them both.


	8. DREAMS

 

Several hours had passed when Gladio finally awoke. Prompto and Ignis were still fast asleep. He had moved Ignis to the floor figuring its coolness would probably feel good against his fever ridden skin. Only his head rested on Gladio’s leg. He felt Iggy’s forehead and to his delight the fever had gone down thanks to the antidote. However he knew if they didn’t get him some water and medical treatment soon the fever would spike and Ignis would be teetering between life and death again. He himself was thirsty. To take his mind off of the situation he looked at Ignis’s sleeping form. He seemed so peaceful that it didn’t even seem like he had gone through such a rough couple of day except for all the cuts and bruises that were covering him. 

Gladio noticed that Ignis had begun to shiver again and felt his body. Feeling he was pretty cold he carefully picked him up and placed him inside his jacket to rest against his bare skin to warm up. Ignis snuggled into him and his shivering stopped fairly quickly. Suddenly he heard Ignis whisper in his sleep

“Water.”

Gladio’s heart broke.

“I’m sorry Iggy, but there isn’t anymore. I’d give you some if I could.”

He cupped Ignis’s face with his hand and hugged him tightly with the other. Kissing Ignis’s forehead he said quietly

“I’ll get us out of this somehow.”

Moments later the door was slammed into and from the cries outside he could tell it was demons. They had finally found them. The noise scared Prompto awake who then jumped to his feet. 

“They found us!”

“It was a nice break while we had it. The door should hold for a while so don’t panic yet.”

Gladio felt Ignis stir.

“Shh it’s okay Iggy. Rest for a little longer.”

With a very weak voice, but slightly stronger than before Ignis replied

“Gladio I saw Noctis.”

Gladio stroked the side of Ignis’s face and said gently

“You were just dreaming Iggy. Noct is gone.”

He noticed Prompto wince from that. Ignis spoke again.

“No I really saw him with my own two eyes. I was no longer blind and he said he was coming back soon and that he needed us. That we’re what gives him strength.”

Prompto met Gladio’s eyes looking at each other questioningly. Prompto crouched down next to Gladio and looked at Ignis under Gladio’s jacket.

“Did he say anything else?”

“Ah yes he told me to pass a message to you. He-”

Ignis suddenly started coughing. Gladio rubbed his back and said

“Take it easy Ignis, don’t overdue it. You’re not out of the woods yet.” 

After his coughing calmed down Prompto asked quietly 

“What message?”

Gladio gave him a look telling him to let Ignis rest, but Ignis replied

“To print a new picture of him because the one you carry with you everywhere is bent, sticky and gross. He said you can take a new picture of him when he returns.”

Looking at Ignis in aw Prompto started to tear up in earnest. Gladio looked at him in shock as Ignis asked quietly 

“What’s wrong Prompto?”

After calming down a bit Prompto wiped his eyes and nose replying

“Last night I had a dream that he came to visit me cloaked in gold. He looked exactly as he did before.”

Prompto then let out a small laugh then continued

“He asked why face looked so fat. After I chewed him out giving him a good laugh he asked me in all seriousness why I wasn’t taking pictures anymore. I told him I lost interest when he left. That nothing in this world seemed worth remembering anymore. He then made fun of the picture I have of him and said it was gross and I should take a new pic when he comes back.”

Gladio didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he felt dizzy. Ignis nodded. 

“Hmm he looked the same way in my dream. What about you Gladio? Did you have a dream of Noct?”

After a moment of silence he answered

“Yeah. He looked like how Prompto described said I’ve been so strong these 10 years, but I’ve been wrong to push the two of you away. He said that we need each other and that he needs the three of us to be strong. He also said I should stop blaming myself for things I didn’t have control over. That I’m the best shield a king could ever ask for and to believe in myself like I once did. The last thing he said was:

“Walk tall my friend.”  
“Walk tall my friend.”  
“Walk tall my friend.”

All three of them said it at the same time, the words reverberating off the walls. All three began to tear up. Prompto put on the biggest smile Gladio had seen in years and said 

“Noct is coming back!!”

He then unexpectedly hugged them. Both hugged him back the best they could. Prompto let go when Ignis let out a small cry of pain.

“Oh I’m sorry Ignis!”

Gladio glared and said half heartedly

“Be more careful. I’m excited that Noct is coming back too, but think before you act Iggy is injured.”

Prompto raised an eyebrow

“Says the guy who always charges in first and asks questions later.”

Before Gladio could comment back Ignis weakly said

“It’s quite alright. There’s no need to make a fuss.”

Ignis started coughing again turning their happy/angry moment into a worried one. Gladio rubbed his back again.

“Again, take it easy Iggy. Don’t talk for awhile.”

“Yeah dude just rest up. We’ll get out of here soon enough.”

Gladio felt Ignis’s forehead and looked at Prompto worried. Prompto nodded understanding that Ignis’ fever went up again. Suddenly the banging on the door got louder then a chunk of the door went flying into the room. 

“They’re breaking in!!”

Prompto summoned his gun and ran over to the door taking aim and firing. Gladio carefully set Ignis up against the wall. As he was about to join Prompto Ignis grabbed his forearm and weakly said

“Gladio…be careful.”

Gladio smiled and said with a smirk

“You’re worried about me? Maybe you should worry about yourself for once.”

He then grabbed Ignis’ chin and kissed him gently.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t move.”

Joining Prompto they killed several through the cracked door. After several minutes it seemed like they were making progress, but then an Iron Giant threw a fist through the door sending them flying. Gladio landed right in front of Ignis. Looking around Gladio saw Prompto getting up just in time to yell 

“WATCH OUT!!”

The Iron Giant was just about to punch through the door and send the statue right at them. 

“IGGY!”

Gladio yelled as he jumped in front of Ignis with no time to summon his shield. As the dust cleared Ignis smelled iron and felt multiple drops of warm liquid fall on him.

“Gl-Gladio?”

Coughing from all the dust Gladio finally answered with a question

“You okay Iggy?”

“Ye-yes I’m fine are you?! I smell blood!”

“There wasn’t any time to summon my shield so I did the next best thing.”

Ignis felt Gladio’s face and realized it was covered in blood. 

“Gladio you’re bleeding!” 

“It’s just a scratch. You know head wounds always bleed a lot.”

Letting go of Ignis Gladio shakily got to his feet and asked through the dust

“Prompto you alive.”

There was a moment of silence then some coughing

“Yeah, but just barely.”

Walking into Gladio’s light Prompto made a face and said

“You don’t look so good.”

Gladio chuckled

“Neither do you.”

Both were covered in blood from various cuts. The Iron Giant let out a roar and started to hit the tomb again causing the whole place to shake. 

“We’re sitting ducks in here!”

Yelled Prompto

Gladio frowned and replied

“This place isn’t going to hold together much longer. We have to fight outside.”

“But there’s a horde of demons out there! We don’t stand a chance by ourselves!”

“You got a better idea?! We’re the Chosen King of Light’s Kingsglaive! We can do anything we set our minds to!”

Prompto was silent for a moment then said confidently 

“You’re right! Lets go!”

Ignis was speechless. He could tell by the way they were walking and shifting their weight that they were badly injured and wouldn’t put up much of a fight.

“Stop you two there must be another way!”

Gladio crouched down next to Ignis and said 

“Listen Master Tactician you know as well as I do that we are all out of options. We have to do this.”

Tears started to flow over in Ignis’ eyes realizing Gladio was right. Gladio wiped them away.

“Don’t cry Iggy.”

“I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to say goodbye to either of you.”

Gladio was shocked. Ignis was always the one out of the three of them to keep his composure and stay positive until the end. Realizing if Ignis is cracking under pressure their situation was just as dire as he didn’t want to believe. Sighing he knew he needed to be strong for the three of them otherwise they weren’t going to make it. 

Resting his forehead against Ignis’s calmed Ignis down. Ignis had always loved when Gladio did this. Quietly, but confidently Gladio said

“I wouldn’t dream of leaving you. It’ll be alright you’ll see. If not at least we will make Noct proud.”

Prompto joined them and said 

“Yeah Iggy we’ll make you and Noct proud. We’ll make up for all the times we worried you, you’ll see! So have faith in us.”

The iron giant roared again, which was answered by several more roars.

“That’s our cue.” 

Gladio said. He then grabbed Ignis’s lips up in a heated kiss. Ignis felt like his fever was going to go through the roof with how hot he was getting. This also worried him because it felt like a goodbye kiss. Once Gladio released him from the kiss Ignis felt something being slipped onto his face.

“Oh yeah I forgot I found your glasses on our way here. I know that they make you feel like your old self so I did my best to take care of them. They might be a little cracked, but for the most part they’re not bad. Anyway stay put Iggy, one of us has to live to greet Noct when he gets back.”

Ignis’s heart began to race as dread and fear sunk into it. He didn’t want this to be the end and he most certainly didn’t want to be the last one standing all by himself when this was over. 

Gladio stumbled to his feet and looking at Prompto said

“You ready?”

“Born ready, but did you have to make out in front of me like that again?!”

“Shut up you’ve heard and seen worse.”

“True.”

As they started to walk away they heard a muffled

“Stop!”

They turned around to see Ignis struggling to get to his feet. Both started to protest, but Ignis shut them down.

“You’re not leaving me behind! I may not be able to fight, but you don’t call me a Master Tactician for nothing! I can help you from the sidelines you just need to give me the information. It’s either all of us meet Noct together or none of us. We all are his Kingsglaive and we stick together! That’s what Noct said – that we need each other. We were once a team, but over these past 10 years we fell apart! We have all been wandering aimlessly each trying our best to pick up the pieces and find our way again. If we had just stuck together perhaps we wouldn’t be in this sorry state!”

They were speechless and looked at each other in surprise. Prompto finally nodded and said 

“You’re right. Not leaning on each other was our downfall. We were so caught up in our own misery, grief, and self-doubt that we didn’t notice each other’s pain. Maybe if we had we would be a lot stronger today. So let’s change that and become a team once more! Come on bros let’s stick together!” 

Gladio nodded and said

“As always you’re right Iggy. Fine, have it your way, but don’t wander too far from me.”

“Right.”

Prompto threw a fist in the air and yelled

“The Chocobros are back in business!”

Gladio looking at him puzzled as he hooked an arm around Ignis’s waist asked

“Chocobros?”

Prompto shrugged his shoulders

“I don’t know it’s something I’ve thought about calling us since our road trip days. Of course Noct is a Chocobro too!”

Ignis chuckled

“I like it. Chocobros it is.”

Smiling they all made their way to the entrance. Prompto starting the fight by sending two gravispheres out the door successfully clearing their way. Ignis then said 

“This will be just like that time we had to save Noct from that group of Cactuar. It’s just a game of keep away.”

Prompto laughed

“Yeah, but this time you’re Noct!”

Gladio adding

“And less needles.”

Ignis smiled. For the first time in a long time he felt like his old self again. The only thing that would make this moment perfect would be having Noctis by his side. Taking in a deep breath Ignis called out

“Alright gentleman let us begin!”


	9. A PROPOSITION

The ground was cold and his body felt like it weighed 3 tons. His skin was so hot it felt like it was on fire and all around him he could hear the roars of iron giants and Arachne echoing. Even closer he could hear footsteps slowly shuffling towards him then the sound of metal being thrust into the ground. Two strong arms wrapped around him and he felt himself leaving the ground. He no longer had the strength to stand on his own so he welcomed Gladio’s warm embrace. 

“We tried our best Iggy, but it wasn’t enough. They just keep coming.” 

Prompto fired one last shot then dropped down at Gladio’s feet saying. 

“It doesn’t matter how many we take down another just reappears to take its place.”

“Yeah for some reason this area of Vesperpool has become over run with demons the last few years.”

Ignis finally spoke up

“This is Ardyn’s doing.” 

Gladio chuckled 

“You think so? That wouldn’t surprise me.”

“He has always enjoyed toying with us.”

Suddenly a smooth voice said

“Ah and here I thought we were all friends.”

A chill ran down their spines as the man in question suddenly appeared before them. All the demons in the area suddenly stopped moving as if they were frozen. It was as if time itself had stopped. Each of them glared in his direction with Gladio spitting out his name as if it was poison

“Ardyn!”

Gladio grabbed his sword out of the ground and pointed it at him holding onto Ignis with the other arm. Prompto found his way back onto his feet and pointed his gun at Ardyn as well. Ardyn smiling from ear to ear said

“Now is that any way to greet an old friend after all these years? You know it’s useless to point weapons at me.”

Gladio glared

“Let’s cut to the chase, why are you here?”

Ignis spoke up

“He’s here to strike a deal.”

Ardyn saying with a chuckle

“Ah astute as always Master Tactician. Yes I am indeed here to make a deal.”

Prompto glared at him with pure hate

“We’d never make a deal with you! You want Noct dead why should we trust you?!”

“You’re not wrong my freckled friend I do indeed want the King of Light along with the line of Lucis dead. However I am a gracious man. I can make all of these demons disappear and you can live another day to pine for your beloved prince and king. I can even heal your poor blind friend of his current condition and give him his eyesight back. I was born a healer after all. This can all be done for a small price.”

Ignis’s throat suddenly went completely dry and began to cough. This time Ignis felt blood come up. Prompto noticing shouted

“Ignis your hand! You just coughed up blood!”

Ardyn noticing put on a pouty face and said in an airy voice

“Oh the poor thing is barely hanging on by a thread.”

Gladio felt his resolve drop. If Ignis didn’t get help soon he was going to die. Gladio stuck his sword in the ground and asked

“What’s the price?”

Ignis shocked weakly said

“Gladio, don’t trust him.”

Ardyn raising a hand in the air cut in

“Ah you see it is your freedom and your loyalty.”

Ignis furrowed his brow and stated 

“That is a steep price to pay.”

“It may seem that way, but you will live your lives the way you have been except you will be at my beck and call whenever I wish. You see I have been watching you three ever since you were traveling with the prince. You are all very gifted and I could use you in this new world of mine as my servants, my Kingsglaive. With the Chosen King of Light soon on his way back I will need some assistance. I’ll even spare your beloved prince’s life, but he will be my slave pleasing me in whatever way I see fit. He like you will do as I say and this world shall remain the way it is. However you shall all be alive and together – doesn’t that sound nice? So now that the terms are on the table what do you say?”

Ignis spoke up first

“No, I won’t accept this offer. You have always played the two-sided coin ever since we first met. You can’t be trusted and the life you promise isn’t a life at all. I don’t want to live my life by your rules even at the expense of my eyesight. Nor would I wish that fate upon Noct! He has already suffered enough by your hand he doesn’t need to suffer any further because of you!”

“Ignis that cuts me deep. And here I thought we were better friends than that. What say you Prompto?”

“I say no way! We’ve never been able to trust you even when you helped us in the past. You once held me captive for over a week and fucked with my mind as I hung in a jail cell! I don’t want to be your Kingsglaive, your servant! Noctis is the one true king and the only king I’ll ever accept! He will wipe you off the face of Eos and bring back the light! He’ll never be yours or anyone’s slave!”

“I should have guessed this would be the answer of the prince’s lover. It all falls on you Gladiolus. You have been quiet this whole time. Join me and your beloved Ignis can have his eyesight back. You’ll no longer have to fret and worry over him and he can once again live a normal life. What is your answer? It only takes one of you to seal the deal.”

Gladio remained silent making Prompto and Ignis worried 

“Dude you’re not seriously considering his offer are you?!”

“Gladio don’t trust him! What he is offering isn’t worth my eyesight, it isn’t worth the life and world he is promising. Noctis has come too far for his freedom to be taken from him! Do you want to see him gravel and suffer at this man’s feet?!”

Ardyn waggling a finger back in forth in the air like a clock pendulum said

“The clock is ticking and you’re poor Ignis isn’t getting any better.”

Finally Gladio sighed

“I know Iggy. You’re right as always. The price is too steep to pay." Glaring at Arden Gladio continued "Even if you gave Ignis his eyesight back like you say you will I wouldn’t want to see him be at your beck and call. He’d be miserable and so would the rest of us. Noctis is the Chosen King of Light and I am his shield! I will only ever be his shield! You are no king! You only wish to bring misery and chaos to this world! I’d die before I bowed down to you and Noct most certainly won’t be forced to do that either!”

Ardyn suddenly glared at them.

“What a disappointment you all are. I guess Noct should feel so lucky to have such loyal subjects and friends. Oh well I guess I shouldn’t have expected much from you. Enjoy what little time you have left on Eos.”

In a sudden flash of blue he was gone just as quickly as he appeared. The demons in the area came back to life and began to notice them again.

Ignis spoke up

“You had me worried there for a moment.”

Prompto adding

“Yeah dude what was up with that?!”

Gladio sighed

“I was never going to agree. As tempting as it was to have your eyes and your body healed I knew that there would be a much larger price to pay if I had taken the offer. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you Iggy.”

Ignis kissed Gladio on the cheek.

“It’s quite alright. The price of our freedom of Noct’s is too precious to give up.”

Prompto nodded and noticed the demons coming their way.

“I just wish I could’ve lived long enough to see Ardyn get his butt kicked by Noct. Unfortunately, I have no energy left – we’re doomed.”

Gladio chuckled.

“Me too. I wish I could’ve seen Noct’s smug face as he officially took the throne. It’s been nice knowing you guys.

Ignis smiling said 

“Noct will make a fine king and ruler this I am certain of.”

Gladio laughing said

“Well of course he will be! You were a great mom Ignis – mama Ignis. You raised him well!”

“You didn’t do so bad yourself Gladdy Daddy.”

The three of them all broke into laughter as they felt the ground beneath their feet begin to shake.  
Ignis turned serious for a moment.

“I’m sorry I was such a burden for the two of you. It was never my intention to be so troublesome.”

Prompto patted Ignis on the shoulder and with a wide smile said

“Dude don’t worry about it! We’ve never once thought of you as a burden. We love you Iggy and just wanted to take care of you. I’m just sad I won’t get another of your home cooked meals. Your cooking was always the best!”

Smiling Gladio replied

“What he said.”

Then kissed Ignis on the forehead. Ignis tearing up said

“I love you both so much. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner nor a better friend. I’m sad that we don’t have anymore time together. ”

Gladio tearing up as well said

“Ignis I’m sorry I caused you so much pain and frustration over the last 10 years. If I could start over I would try my absolute best to make you happy every day. I love you more than life itself.”

“Gladiolus there is nothing to forgive.”

Ignis pulled Gladio into one last tender kiss. Prompto's eyes filling with tears added

“Thanks you guys for being my friends and family. All my life all I’ve ever wanted was friends. You’re all I’ve ever had and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And Noct I can’t even describe how much I love him. He like you guys forever changed my life. We may not have been together for as long as you two, but we loved each other just as much. I hope Luna can forgive me for stealing him away from her.”

Ignis chuckled

“Luna was a smart young lady. I’m sure she already knew about the two of you. After all it was her that urged you to pursue him, to be ever at his side. You were his only friend outside of us and he loved you more than life itself.”

“Thanks Iggy. To Noct!”

Each raised a fist in the air 

“To Noct!”

Just as the demons were about to leap on them they bowed their heads and Prompto took Ignis’ hand and Gladio wrapped his free arm around Prompto’s shoulders. Gladio saying the final words

“Walk tall Noct and make us proud.”

Just as the words left his mouth a sudden chill filled the area and the demons froze solid just inches away from them.

“You’re prayers have been heard young ones and you have passed the trial.”

They raised their heads recognizing the elegant female voice. Ignis finding his voice first said

“Gentiana?! What trial?”

She stepped forward and transformed into Shiva before their very eyes. 

“A trial to see if you were truly worthy of serving the Chosen King of Light. We have been watching this day unfold and let Ardyn play his game at your expense. You have passed with high marks. The Chosen King will be happy to know his prayers have been answered. Upon meeting the great Bahamut he asked that we watch over his three friends while he was gone. We have done just that, but today was a test to see where your loyalties truly lie. As he has told you he will be returning soon and will need the support of all three of you if he wishes to rid our star of its scourge. I will see to it that you make it back to Lestallum safely alongside your hunter friends. There you will wait for word from Umbra of your king’s return.”

Prompto barely able to contain his excitement or tears asked

“So Noct is really coming back?!”

“Yes young one. You will soon be reunited with him again. Now brace yourselves as I purify these demons.”

Shiva suddenly rose into the sky and was joined by several other Shivas. The sky filled with ice and snow successfully freezing every demon in the area. Turning her attention upon them once more she said

“Now go. Seek healing and wait for your king to return.”

Snow filled the air once more and she was gone. They suddenly heard a clamor from the road and saw Cor, Iris, Dave, Aranea, Ren, and Levi burst onto the scene looking wide eyed. They rushed over to the boys trying not to slip. Iris pulled them into a group hug.

“I’m so glad you guys are ok! All of the demons were suddenly frozen by a lady clad in ice.”

Ignis spoke first

“It was Shiva. She saved us in the nick of time.”

Aranea walked up to him with a slight limp.

“Glad to see you’re still alive. You made a lot of people worried sick.”

“Thank you, I’m well aware.”

He said meekly and began to cough and shiver. The cold air was seeping into his already weakened body. Seeing the blood Aranea stated

“Maybe I spoke too soon. We need to get you out of here and fast! Follow me boys! There are Chocobos waiting at the entrance.”

Cor clapped Gladio on the shoulder as they followed Aranea.

“Sorry we’re late, there were just too many demons.”

“Huh better late than never. It’s all Ardyn’s fault anyway. The next time I see him he’s getting a knuckle sandwich.”

“Figures he was behind all the demons.”

They soon picked up the speed and quickly made it to the entrance not a living demon in sight. Once Gladio had Ignis safely secured on a chocobo he climbed up behind him and took off with the others close behind him for the old HQ. 

“Don’t worry Iggy I’ll get you in a car and back to Lestallum in no time. You’ll be patched up and ready to take on another hunt before you can say tonberry.”

“I don’t wish to encounter another demon for a long, long time.”

While chuckling Gladio stated

“Agreed. We can just have some alone time and make up for all the time we’ve been apart. Oh and celebrate your birthday of course.”

“Sounds delightful.”

With that said they both grew quiet and focused on the task at hand.


	10. A SLOW RECOVERY

Upon reaching Lestallum ignis was rushed to the hospital, Gladio practically charging the front desk. He was quickly taken from Gladio’s arms and whisked away to the back leaving Gladio feeling frantic and empty. Prompto grabbed his arm and said with a small smile

“Don’t worry Iggy is in good hands. He’ll be fine.”

Suddenly Prompto collapsed Gladio just barely catching him and carefully lowering him to the ground. Gladio could hear Cor call for help in the background as he said.

“Prompto! Hey! Are you ok?!”

A weak smile crossed his face

“Sorry buddy. I guess all the adrenaline has finally worn off and all my injuries are catching up with me.”

After hearing this Gladio began to realize just how much pain he himself was in. Suddenly several nurses appeared and he and Prompto were rushed to their own hospital beds. After several hours of being poked, prodded, stitched, and bandaged Cor came to their room. He himself was bandaged up and upon entering Gladio instantly ask

“Have you heard anything about Ignis?!”

Prompto adding

“Yeah is he gonna be ok?”

A dark look crossed Cor’s face as he said

“He’s not doing so well. His injuries are much worse than we thought. It seems the poison did a lot more damage than we were aware of. He has a concussion, a couple of broken ribs, and lot of internal bleeding. He is in surgery as we speak and should be out in an hour or so. As for you two you’ll be out in a few days. Your injuries are bad, but you don’t have any broken bones or any major wounds you’re just very banged up and could use a few days of rest. Several of the hunters were admitted too. It seems we all made here just in time.”

A heavy aura filled the room resting on their shoulders like a heavy blanket. Upon seeing their faces Cor said

“Don’t worry doctors here are great – he’ll be just fine. Ignis is tough he’s not gonna die that easily. Get some rest and stay in your beds. That’s an order. I’ll let you know as soon as he’s out of surgery.”

With that said Cor left the room. It wasn’t until several hours had passed that Gladio heard Cor’s voice again. He was assisting the nurses as they wheeled Ignis on a gurney passed their room and into his own down the hall. He was the first to hop out of his bed his half tied gown swaying open revealing his naked backside as he rushed to the door IV in hand. 

Prompto was just behind him clumsily attempting to tie up his gown as he exited the room. However, he was in too much of a hurry so Prompto only succeeded in tying the top ties. As he made his way down the hall several nurses blushed as he passed due to his exposed backside. He heard Prompto apologizing and trying his best to shield his backside while dragging his own IV along.

He was oblivious to his surroundings and only had one thing on his mind – Ignis. Just as he was about to enter Ignis’s room he was stopped when a hand was shoved in his face, Cor behind it.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait?”

“You should know by now that I don’t always listen to orders that well, especially if it involves Ignis.”

Prompto peered around him at Cor and said quietly with a small smile

“Sorry.”

With Gladio stopped Prompto took the opportunity to tie up the rest of his gown. Cor sighed and put his hand down.

“Just wait a moment.”

Peering into the room Gladio watched as the nurses hooked Ignis up to several machines to monitor his vitals. It took a couple of minutes, but once the nurses were done he and the rest were given clearance to enter. Upon rounding the corner of Ignis’s bed he realized Ignis was still fast asleep, but looking better. The nurses had cleaned him up and all the blood and dirt was cleared from his face and they placed his cracked glasses on his bedside table. Prompto standing right next to him smiled

“He looks peaceful. Hopefully all the pain meds they’re giving him are helping.”

Cor on the other side of Ignis added

“They’ll probably keep him sedated for awhile. It will take some time for him to wake up.”

Gladio pulled up a chair next to Ignis and sat down.

“That’s fine I’ve got all the time in the world to wait.”

Cor raised an eyebrow and said

“You’re just gonna sit there?”

“Yup.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised. You always have thought irrationally when it comes to Ignis.”

Prompto adding with a laugh

“That’s our Gladio. Only ever thinking about Ignis.”

Cor laughed

“He hasn’t changed. He still acts the way he did as a teen. Always brash, bold and outspoken.”

“Yup that’s him.”

Hearing them make fun of him he interjected

“Hey I’m right here guys. Give me some credit I have too changed.”

Cor smiling

“If you mean you’ve become even more brash, bold and outspoken then yes you’re right.”

Hearing Prompto snicker he gave them a look telling them to shut up. Cor still smiling waved a hand at him.

“Lighten up we’re only teasing you. I’ll tell the nurses where they can find the two of you. Hopefully they wont be too angry.” 

As Cor made his way to the room door he called over his shoulder

“Hey Prompto if he hasn’t told you yet how he got Ignis to go out with him now’s the time to ask.”

He stopped at the door and looked at them

“If you think Gladio is stubborn now you should’ve seen him back then. He had his sights set on Ignis since they were kids and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. I thought poor Ignis was going to crumble to pieces under all that pressure, but he maintained his composure pretty well like he always does.”

Remembering the things he did and said to Ignis a wide smile crossed his face.

“That’s not entirely true. There were a few times I surprised him and shattered that cool composure he always has.”

“I did say he maintained it ‘pretty well’. You’re the only person that can make him drop his guard. I’ll be back to check on you guys later until then let Ignis rest.”

With that he was gone. He took Ignis’s hand and lightly squeezed it.

“I’m here Iggy.”

Prompto pulled up a chair beside him and said quietly, but cheerfully 

“I’m here too Iggy and we’re not going anywhere.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Two days passed and Ignis still hadn’t woken up. True to their word Gladio and Prompto stayed by his side those two days. Iris, Cor, and several others came by to say hi and see how he was doing. Prompto often took naps on the vacant bed next to Ignis, but Gladio refused to leave his seat. He often just fell asleep in his chair beside Ignis still holding onto his hand. Iris dropped off some of his books to help pass the time. He only ever left Ignis’s side to go to the bathroom and that was it. Their nurses happily brought their food to them understanding why they were holed up in Ignis’s room. However, to everyone’s dismay Gladio hardly touched it. 

On the morning of the third day Prompto stated

“Dude you need to get some sleep and eat something. You’re making everyone including me freak out.”

“If I sleep on a bed I’ll sleep too long. I want to be right here when he wakes up. And I’m just not hungry so lay off.”

“More like you’re too worried to eat so you can’t.”

“Exactly so stop bugging me.”

Prompto sighed.

“You don’t need to worry so much. He’s getting all the nutrients he needs through his IV and I’m here in case something happens so get some sleep. He’s not going to disappear. Ignis would want you to take care of yourself.”

“I know he would be pissed if he found out I wasn’t taking care of myself. It’s just I see him in this bed and think about all he’s been through and how much pain he’d be in without the meds. Knowing all that I can’t sleep or eat knowing what he’s going through and here I am just fine.”

Somberly Prompto replied

“But you’re not just fine. All three of us got pretty banged up Iggy just suffered the most. You need to heal too.”

“I know…”

Sighing Prompto said

“Fine I know there’s no way of changing your mind. As Cor said you’re stubborn. The doctor said they’re going to lower Iggy’s meds today so he should wake up soon. Until then at least eat this apple, drink some water, and take a nap in your chair.”

Prompto held up a bottle of water and an apple. Gladio raised an eyebrow to it not wanting to take it. Prompto smiled

“Pretty please with sugar on top.”

He sighed and unhappily took the water and food.

“Fine.”

He quickly ate the apple and downed the water handing Prompto the trash afterwards with a 

“There you happy?”

Smiling widely 

“Yup I sure am. Now go to sleep I’ll keep watch.” 

“Fine, but wake me up in a half hour.”

“Sure thing.”

He crossed his arms and made himself a little more comfortable and was out in seconds. When he awoke he felt groggy. Shifting in his chair he blinked and rubbed his eyes several times before he could clear all the sleep from them. When he could finally see straight he realized it was evening and Prompto was nowhere to be found.

“Damn it so much for waking me up in a half hour. That useless chocobo turd.”

Looking at the clock on Ignis’s bedside table it read it was just after 6pm. Grumpily he sat up and stretched, the blanket someone had placed on him slumping down to his lap. Yawning he looked up at Ignis to find him still fast asleep, but was now on his side facing him. Looking around he found a note in Prompto’s chair along with a bottle of water and a wrapped sandwich. The note read

Hey buddy if you’re reading this you’re finally  
awake! Sorry I didn’t wake you up when you wanted  
me to, but you needed the sleep. Iris stopped by with  
sandwiches earlier – she made your favorite! Anyway  
the doctor stopped by to talk and had some paperwork that  
needed to be filled out so I stepped out of the room for a bit,  
but I won’t be gone long so don’t be too mad. Also eat  
the sandwich or I’ll tell Ignis that you’ve been starving yourself  
when he wakes up. You don’t want him pissed at you do you?

\- Prompto  
5:45pm

He felt himself turn a little blue at the thought of Ignis’s wrath if he found out he hadn’t been eating or sleeping properly since he’s been out. Sighing he picked up the sandwich and started eating it. As he was finishing it he heard Ignis start to stir. He quickly chugged some water to get the rest of the sandwich down then sat on the edge of his seat getting as close to Ignis as he could. His heart was racing. 

Ignis turned onto his back and slowly blinked his right eye open. Feeling very groggy and disoriented panic rose in his chest. He looked around with his right eye but found nothing, but darkness. 

Where am I?! Why is it so dark?! Where is everyone?!

As panic fully set in his breathing became erratic. Just as he was about to call out he felt rough strong hands grab his right hand and shoulder.

“Ignis!! It’s ok! It’s me Gladio – I’m right here!”

Relief began to wash over him subsiding the panic allowing him to take in several deep breaths helping him gain his bearings. Rolling onto his side to face Gladio he grabbed both of Gladio’s hands holding one in each hand. His voice cracked from no use as he said

“Gladio thank goodness. Where the bloody hell are we?”

“We’re in the hospital we’ve been here for three days. Do you remember what happened?”

He took a moment and began to search his memory. Suddenly it all came flooding back to him and he was finally able to answer 

“Yes.”

“You’ve been out since we arrived mostly because of the pain meds they put you on. They rushed you into surgery once we got here. You have some broken ribs, a concussion, and some internal bleeding, but with the surgery they were able to stop the bleeding. They wanted you to rest so they didn’t lower your med intake until today. That’s why you were able to wake up.”

Trying to take in all this information he finally asked

“What about you? Are you ok? You sound tired. Where’s Prompto?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. As for Prompto he’s with a doctor right now.”

Reaching up to touch Gladio’s face he could feel he had bags under his eyes.

“You haven’t been sleeping well have you?”

Gladio sighed 

“No and before you ask no I haven’t been eating well either. Please don’t be mad I was just too worried to take care of myself.”

“Gladio.”

He said in a disapproving tone and was about to scold him when he suddenly felt Gladio shudder. He felt Gladio’s face became warm as he leaned into his hand and suddenly felt a tear roll down his cheek. His heart broke.

“Gladio…”

He said quietly. Gladio placed his own hand over his pressing it even closer to his face. He felt Gladio kiss his hand as silent tears streamed down his cheek. After a moment Gladio said in a strained voice

“Damn why does it half to rain. I’m sorry Iggy I’m just so glad your ok and awake. I was so worried I was gonna lose you.”

Knowing Gladio was too embarrassed to admit he was crying he said nothing and just gently stroked his thumb across Gladio’s cheek. It warmed his heart to hear this big strong man say something so heartfelt. Gladio never showed his emotions in front of anyone, but him and that always made him feel special. Knowing Gladio was so close he moved so their foreheads were touching.

“I’m sorry love. All I’ve been doing lately is make you worry. Forgive me. You know I’d never leave you if I could help it.”

Gently he gave Gladio a kiss on the lips who happily returned it. The kiss remained tender and when it was broken he felt Gladio gently wrap his arms around him pulling him into a hug. The hug lasted awhile until they heard footsteps and an excited squeal as they entered the room.

“Ignis!! You’re awake!”

Prompto yelled as he hugged him after Gladio let go. 

“Careful! Watch all his cords!”

He heard Gladio yell disapprovingly. As Prompto let go he heard him apologize.

“Sorry Iggy I just got so excited to see you were awake.”

“It’s quite alright no harm done.”

Patting Gladio’s arm as he said this. He heard another set of footsteps approaching and soon heard Cor say.

“Ignis I’m glad to see you’re back in the world of the living.”

He felt Cor pat him on the shoulder as he said this.

“I as well Marshal.”

Realizing how dry his throat was he felt a coughing fit come on. Just before it hit he asked

“Gladio could I have some water? My throat is rather parched.”

“Yeah sure!”

He heard the sound of a plastic water bottle and felt Gladio place it in his hand, but before he could take a sip several coughs passed his lips. Once they were over he took several slow sips with Gladio saying

“Slowly Iggy slowly. You haven’t had anything to eat or drink in a couple of days so you don’t want to shock your system.”

It was only after he had finished off the bottle that he noticed how quiet everyone was. 

“What is it? What’s wrong.”

He heard a collective sigh then Prompto spoke up.

“Nothings wrong. We just got nervous because of your coughing attack.”

Cor adding

“We’re just glad to see you’re not coughing up blood anymore. It means the meds are helping you heal. Well that and the surgery.”

Realization dawned on him as he remembered that before he passed out he had been coughing up blood.

“Ah I see. Well I am happy as well. My chest doesn’t hurt as badly as it once did so it must mean I am on the mend.”

He heard Gladio let out a sigh of relief and say 

“Thank the gods.”

Gladio then changed the subject by saying

“By the way Prompto why are you back in your street clothes?”

“Because I have been released from the hospital. You on the other hand have to stay here for a few more days because you’re barely eating or sleeping. They’re worried there is more wrong with you than what they thought! See what happens when you take a siesta Ignis? Gladio falls apart!”

“Hey I’m trying to do better! I ate the apple and the sandwich you black mailed me with!”

“Well good! You’re one step closer to being back in comfy street clothes. As much as the nurses enjoy seeing you walk around with your ass hanging out in that gown the rest of us don’t.”

“Well I could walk around naked like I do at home.”

Ignis could tell Gladio was wearing a devilish grin on his face by the way he said that.

“Ew gross! It’s bad enough when you do that at home when I’m there it would be even worse in public! Just because you have a very fit body doesn’t mean everyone wants to see your muscles and especially not your junk!”

He couldn’t take much more and let the laughter burst out of him. The others soon joined him and he laughed until his sides hurt. Wiping tears from his eyes he finally said

“It’s good to be back.”

He felt Gladio grab his hand and squeeze it

“We’re glad to have you back.”

He heard Prompto chuckle then say excitedly

“Before you know it you’ll be back on your feet and back in the kitchen making all sorts of new recipes for us to try!”

Gladio retorted

“Don’t push it Prompto. He’ll be staying far away from the kitchen until he’s fully recovered. That means you’re on kitchen duty.”

“Aw man! I suck at cooking! Maybe Iris will cook for us!”

“Maybe. She does like to cook a lot, but don’t get your hopes up she’s a busy girl. She’s heading out with Cor tomorrow for that hunt we were all supposed to go on. Thankfully it’s just recon work.”

Cor added in

“Don’t worry I’ll keep her safe. I’ve had a couple of days to rest so I’m almost good as new.”

Gladio laughed

“Don’t push yourself too much old man!”

“Hey I can still hand you your ass you brat so you better watch who you’re calling old.”

Prompto intervened by saying

“Aaaaaaaanyway we’re glad you’re back Iggy so take it slow. There’s no rush so just take your time healing. Gladio and I will be here until you’ve recovered.”

Surprise washed over him and he asked half in disbelief

“You mean the two of you aren’t picking up any hunts in the mean time?”

Prompto answered very cheerfully 

“Nope of course not! We’re staying right here!”

Gladio squeezed his hand again.

“There’s nothing in this world that could tempt me to leave your side. Not even a lifetime supply of cup noodles. That would be nice though.”

He felt an overwhelming amount of happiness fill his heart and couldn’t help but tear up. 

“Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.”

He felt Gladio get up from his seat and move closer to him. He kissed his temple and half hugged him around the shoulders. 

“You’re more than welcome Iggy.”

He was glad to be back and surrounded by such amazing friends. These people were his family and he loved them dearly. Suddenly a dark haired blue-eyed boy popped into his mind. His heart yearned to hug that boy in person, but he knew he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer to do so. He just had to be patient awhile longer. With all this in mind he was determined to get well as fast as he could. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Gladio say

“Alright Iggy lets get you something to eat. What would you like to eat? The skies the limit.”

“Hmm…I could really go for an Ebony right about now”

All three of them burst into laughter once again and he couldn’t help but join them.


	11. WORDS OF THE HEART

 

Several Weeks Later…

Gripping the bed sheets was all Ignis could do to keep himself from crying out madly from pleasure as Gladio pounded into him from behind. His mind was blank and his skin a blaze from all the places Gladio was touching him. Sweat was pouring off his body, his breathing ragged, and his hair a mess. He could feel himself falling apart at the seams, but didn’t care. So much pleasure was coursing through him that even his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. He simply couldn’t get enough of Gladio. This man was the only one who could unhinge him and make him become submissive just by a mere touch. He was willing to do whatever Gladio asked of him just as long as it made them both happy and feel good.

He could hear Gladio panting wildly and felt him grip his hips tighter as he picked up the speed signaling he was nearing his limit. He pounded into him deeper and deeper reaching all his g-spots driving him mad. Trying desperately to conceal his moans he bit down on his own wrist. Gladio noticing panted

“Let me hear you voice Ig-gy. It’s only the two of us so why keep it in?”

He slammed extra hard into him making a loud smacking noise and causing him to let out a loud moan. Heat was rapidly rising in his hips and cock making him unsure if he could endure it much longer. Pleading he asked

“Gl…a…dio grab…my cock. Please.”

Without any words Gladio did just that and began to jerk him off filling their bedroom with moans. Suddenly he cried out as he felt himself release covering the bed with cum. Hearing him orgasm sent Gladio over the edge and seconds later he could feel Gladio’s big hot dick fill him. Exhausted he collapsed on the bed unable to move. 

Without pulling out he heard Gladio grab a nearby plastic water bottle from the nightstand and chug it down in seconds. Gasping for air he grabbed another and filled his mouth with it. He felt Gladio lean over him grab his chin and kiss him, slowly letting the water leak into his mouth. Feeling the moist water coming from Gladio’s mouth he greedily drank it down. He felt Gladio smile against his lips then lick them.

“I’m not surprised you’re this thirsty I did work you pretty hard. Have some more Iggy.”

He did the same thing as before and gave him water mouth to mouth. Feeling exhausted he gladly accepted another kiss full of water and once their lips separated he rested his head back on the bed. His body felt like a ton of bricks and knew he couldn’t move. He felt Gladio pull out, his cum beginning to run out of his ass and down his thigh. 

The air in the room was filled with the scent of cum and their own personal scents comingling together. They had been having sex nearly nonstop since the morning before when the doctors ok’d his health. He had been out of the hospital for two weeks and was finally given a bill of health yesterday. They had desperately missed each other’s touch and neither felt ashamed for locking themselves away in their bedroom. Feeling Gladio get back on the bed he wasn’t surprised when he suddenly felt his arms around him helping him sit up. Gladio propped him up against himself and wrapped an arm his waist. Opening a bottle of water he handed it to him saying.

“Good thing Prompto bought us this case of water. We’d be screwed otherwise.”

After taking a long swig of water Ignis licked his lips.

“I suspect he knew we’d hole ourselves up in our room. He’s aware it has been – frustrating not being able to be ‘together’ these past few months.”

“You can say that again.”

Gladio grabbed his chin giving him a sultry kiss. As he released his lips Gladio commented

“It was almost more than I could take, but your body needed to heal and I wasn’t going to mess that up. I don’t think I’ve given so much head or hand jobs in my life or gotten just as many either. It’s easy to say I’m just glad you’re back to normal although I really did enjoy those blowjobs. ”

Ignis smiled and laughed as he replied

“You’re welcome. We couldn’t have sex the normal way so we had to make due. Anyway I’m back to being as normal as I can be.”

Gladio’s arm tightened around his waist and his head was now leaning against his own. Quietly and in all seriousness Gladio said

“Don’t scare me like that again. This time I really didn’t think you were going to come back to me.”

“I won’t lie, I myself wasn’t sure this time if I would return to you. Forgive me I shouldn’t have left Lestallum without you. Things might have gone differently if I had had you by my side.”

Gladio sighed

“You don’t have to apologize. I may not like it when you go on hunts by yourself, but as you’ve told me countless of times you’re not a helpless child. I know I give you crap about going on hunts and I shouldn’t. You can handle yourself, but still I worry. I hate seeing you get hurt or suffer and when you do I hurt and suffer too.”

Ignis felt Gladio shake a little and suddenly felt ‘rain’ on the side of his face. 

“Gladio…”

“Sorry I haven’t been myself lately. I feel like a girl crying at the drop of all the time.”

“There is no shame in crying or showing your emotions. It just shows how big your heart is.”

Ignis turned to face Gladio a little more and cupped Gladio’s face in his hands. While gently wiping his tears away he leaned his forehead against Gladio’s.

“However, I feel the same way Gladio and I deeply apologize for worrying you. It has never been my intention to throw your heart into disarray.”

“Besides Iris and Prompto, you’re all I have left. I can’t lose you.”

“I know and I think the same thing that’s why we need to watch over each other even more than we have in the past. Noct is coming back soon and we can’t let him down so we need to have each other’s backs - always.”

“I know. I love you Ignis so, so much. You know that right?”

“Yes, and I you more than you’ll ever understand.”

Taking Gladio’s lips Ignis kissed him tenderly, however Gladio returned the kiss with a demanding hunger behind it. Ignis felt heat rise inside his chest as the kiss deepened and became wilder. Suddenly Gladio wrapped both arms around his waist and lifted him up onto his lap. His kisses becoming even more demanding and his hands found their way to his bottom roughly cupping his cheeks.

Gasping he broke the kiss, causing Gladio to move onto his neck leaving a trail of kisses to his collarbone. He was already feeling his face become flush and excitement rising up in his cock.

“Gl-Gladio, are you really ready for another go? We’ve been at this since yesterday morning. We’ve barely left the bed.”

Gladio kissed his temple then lightly nibbled on his earlobe causing him to let out a small moan.

“Hell yeah I am. Can you blame me? I’ve barely been able to touch you over the last few months. I need my fill of you. Your words and kiss just riled me up again so I’m ready to go. Masturbating to pictures and videos of you can only get me off for so long. I need the real you. To feel your silky smooth skin that tastes as sweet as honey and to hear your heart race wildly when I touch you. That’s what I need right now – to feel you come alive.”

Feeling himself get turned on by Gladio’s words he suddenly turned the tables and forced Gladio onto his back. Leaning down he kissed Gladio heatedly causing both their heads to swim. When they couldn’t kiss any longer their lips parted leaving them gasping for air. While straddling him he could feel Gladio’s eyes on him looking him up and down. Gladio gripped Ignis’s thighs and said heatedly

“I like the view, it’s pretty damn hot.”

He smirked and replied

“Glad you like it.”

He grabbed Gladio’s chin and kissed him heatedly once more. When the kiss broke he said with a yearning in his voice.

“I missed your touch terribly as well. Every inch of my body that you’re touching feels like it’s on fire.”

Suddenly he felt Gladio grab his dick and give it a few caresses causing small noises of pleasure to leave his mouth. Heat instantly began to rise in his hips and it was steadily growing. With a smirk Gladio commented

“You’re getting so hard Iggy, you sure you want to be on top for this round? I don’t mind it’s pretty damn sexy.”

He grabbed Gladio’s hand causing him to stop. Panting he replied

“Yes, let me service you this round.”

“Fine by me. You know I get turned on when you’re on top.”

He could feel Gladio’s growing cock beneath him pulsing from the contact it had with his body. His head was beginning to swim. Leaning over Gladio he started kissing him again, Gladio running his hands through his hair making an even bigger mess of it. Soon he made a trail of kisses down Gladio’s neck and to his nips. While lightly biting and sucking on one he pinched the other successfully making Gladio gasp. 

“Ah! Iggy bite a little harder.”

He chomped down then sucked hard while pinching the other causing Gladio to arch his back and say

“Yeah just like that! I love it when you’re rough!”

“Sometimes I forget how much you like rough sex.”

“You’re one to talk. Sometimes I think that’s your favorite type of sex.”

He grinned

“True.”

When he was satisfied with teasing Gladio’s nipples and the many sounds that came with it he moved his kissing trail down Gladio’s stomach and to his thighs. While biting Gladio’s inner thighs gently he began to stroke Gladio’s cock. At this point it was drenched in precum and growing hotter and larger by the second. After a few moments of playing with Gladio’s dick he could feel his impatience and was struggling to maintain his excitement. Soon he heard

“Ig-Iggy stop teasing me, use your mouth.”

“Aw, but I love hearing you squirm for once. You make the cutest noises.” 

He jerked Gladio’s dick as he licked his balls then popped a finger in his ass making Gladio jerk and gasp.

“Ig-gy come on…don’t be mean.”

Ignis always enjoyed being in control over Gladio’s pleasure. As often as he became submissive to Gladio’s demanding sex drive there were times when he enjoyed being the man as well. This time being one of those times made him want to play with Gladio even more. He loved feeling Gladio squirm beneath him or how it felt to ram his dick into Gladio’s ass making him moan wildly and the heat that consumed his dick was the best. Cumming inside was always a thrill, but making Gladio cum from being taken by him was an even bigger thrill. It was invigorating, but since he had already had his turn of giving earlier and no longer had the energy to give again he decided he would just toy with Gladio a little longer. Sticking another finger in Gladio’s ass he pumped them in and out feeling Gladio’s insides pulse and clench as he moaned and panted.

“Ig…gy…”

“Say please.”

“Pl-please…use your mouth.”

Smiling he pulled his fingers out and gently kissed Gladio’s thigh.

“Certainly, it would be my pleasure.”

He himself was eager to suck Gladio’s cock and popped it into his mouth. He rather enjoyed giving head to Gladio especially when Gladio got rough. While sucking he massaged Gladio’s balls and stroked the base of his cock. He was delighted as Gladio began to squirm, jump, and pant as he sucked harder. He could tell Gladio was barely being able to contain himself and felt him dig a hand into his hair holding his head down on his cock. In response he bit down a little making Gladio cry out in pleasure and grip his hair even tighter. Feeling his own cock swelling he knew he couldn’t take much more. In a few moments he brought Gladio almost to the edge then stopped sucking. Gladio instantly knew what he wanted and fervently pleaded

“Hurry Iggy.”

With the invitation Ignis swiped some precum from his own dick and stuck two then three fingers in his own ass testing if he was ready. Gasping within seconds he pulled his fingers out then mounted Gladio once more lining his ass up with Gladio’s cock. Gently lowering himself onto Gladio’s throbbing dick caused them both to let out noises of pleasure. His dick was so hot the heat alone almost made him cum, but he wasn’t going to cum that easily. He enjoyed being on top and was going to get out of it what he could. Once it was in he began to eagerly move his hips feeling the pleasure rise through them and into his dick. Hearing Gladio pant made him feel even more turned on. Gladio’s dick was so hot, hard, and pulsing that the pleasure brought tears to his eyes. He was in pure ecstasy and moaning just as much as Gladio. Gladio let out a loud moan as he jerked a little faster and said

“That’s it! Faster Iggy you feel so damn good! My dick is gonna melt.”

Gladio gripped his ass harder making him pant even more heavily as he picked up the pace. Suddenly Gladio grabbed his dick and began to stroke it forcing a moan out of his lips. It was too much of an overload he was already at his limit. He wanted this to last just a little longer. 

“Gladio…it’s too much I’m gonna come…let go.”

“I’m at my limit too…I can’t take much more.”

He felt Gladio begin to thrust into him making loud embarrassing moans escape his mouth. He leaned forward and caught Gladio’s lips up in a kiss to silence his moans. Gladio placed a hand behind his head holding it in place deepening the kiss. After a moment he broke the kiss needing to breathe and let out another loud moan.

“Gladio!”

“I’m coming too!”

Within seconds the pleasure that had been swelling in his lower half burst forth. He felt drool and tears run down his face as he drowned in ecstasy and came all over Gladio’s chest. Seconds later he felt Gladio release filling him to the brim making him gasp from the feeling. Exhausted he collapsed on top of Gladio breathing heavily. He felt Gladio wrap his arms around him then kiss the top of his head.

“Good job Iggy you did great even with all the teasing.”

Laughing he replied

“Let me have my fun every once in a while, you tease and play with me far too often. Sometimes I need to remind you that I’m a man with needs as well.”

“I could never forget how much of a man you are after the way you pounded into me earlier. That was such a turn on.”

Feeling content to be in Gladio’s arms he basked in their combined body heat as Gladio gently rubbed his back. Within a few minutes he could feel his consciousness begin to fade and slip further into the darkness. Struggling to stay awake he suddenly heard Gladio say

“It’s ok Iggy, you can rest. We’ve been at this for two days I know you’re exhausted, so get some sleep. If we continue I’m gonna break you.”

Chuckling he replied

“If I was a woman I’d be pregnant by now.”

“With the amount of sex we’ve had over the years we would have our own sports team. Noct would’ve been jealous of all his brothers and sisters.”

“Let’s not forget our adopted son.”

“Of course, who could forget that blonde haired, chocobo loving, goof. He’d be madly jealous too, but as long as he had Noctis he’d be content.”

“I would gladly raise the two of them all over again, but I can’t say that I could handle anymore. Two was enough.”

He felt himself rise up and down as Gladio heartily laughed. His voice reverberating through his body as he asked 

“What are you saying you don’t want to have anymore kids? Not even my kids?”

Smiling he replied

“What I said was I don’t wish to raise anymore, but if it were physically possible for me to bare your children I would happily do so.”

“At least they’d be strong, beautiful, and smart. They’d have your eyes and smarts, but my dashing good looks. ”

“A triple threat. I like the sound of that. They could think their way out of any fight, but if they had to they could kick anyone’s ass. ”

“Our kids sound like they’d be amazing.”

“Perfect in everyway.”

He felt sleep creeping up on him again and yawned. He knew he was about to pass out. Propping himself up on Gladio’s chest he looked in the direction of his face. Waiting patiently he hoped Gladio knew what he wanted, what he always wanted before he drifted off to sleep. Within seconds he felt Gladio’s rough warm hand under his chin pulling him into a kiss. As the loving kiss broke he heard and felt Gladio chuckle and comment

“I knew that’s what you wanted. You always want a good night’s kiss before you doze off.”

“You know me too well love.”

“That I do. Good night Iggy, love you.”

“And I you.”

He felt Gladio begin to shift and roll them onto their sides. Using Gladio’s arm as a pillow he drifted off into sleep almost immediately.


	12. A THOUGHTFUL MESS

Ignis awoke to the sound of Gladio lightly snoring deep asleep and resting peacefully. Thus putting a content smile on his face. He gently shifted in Gladio’s arms facing him still using his arm as a pillow. Placing a hand on Gladio’s chest he took a deep breath and realized he felt content for the first time in a long time. It had taken him 2 months to fully heal from that last hunt. He kissed Gladio’s chest knowing how difficult the last 2 months had been on him. They didn’t even get to celebrate Gladio’s birthday. How he wished he had been well enough to bake him his favorite cake and make him his favorite dinner. His recovery had not been easy, but Gladio and Prompto stayed by his side the entire time. He knew he was a lucky man.

Gladio began to shift and the arm that was resting on Ignis’s waist pulled him closer. After taking a deep breath Gladio said groggily

“Morning.”

“Good morning.” He replied quietly

“Have you been awake for long?

“No only a few short minutes.”

“Couldn’t go back to sleep?”

“No it’s not that I just got lost in thought. I was just reflecting on my recovery and how lucky I am to have you and Prompto by my side. It could not have been easy for the two of you, I’m sorry for that.”

“Iggy you know it’s pointless to apologize. We stayed by your side because we wanted to not because we had to.”

“Yes I know, it’s just I was in a sorrier state than we anticipated when we arrived home from Vesperpool. I spent so much time in the hospital and worried the two of you sick that I’m amazed you didn’t lose your minds.”

“There were times where I nearly did. Your recovery was so touch and go in the beginning we honestly didn’t know if you were gonna make it. When you started coughing up blood again that’s when we realized just how much damage the poison had done. It left us in shock. Just when it would seem like you were getting better something else would go wrong.”

“There were indeed a lot of ups and downs. Coughing up blood is an activity I will not sorely miss, but thankfully that is all behind us.”

“You and me both. You had so many machines hooked up to you at one point that I wasn’t sure you’d be able to live without them.”

“Yes, thankfully I vaguely remember that time during my recovery.”

“Well it’s no surprise that you don’t remember. You could barely stay awake in the beginning and the drugs they had you on didn’t make it any easier. You spent many days unconscious causing me to spend many days and sleepless nights a mess. I wanted to make sure I would be there if you woke up and needed something so I barely left your side.”

“I’ve been told by Prompto that there were many a time that he had to kick you out of the room and have Iris drag you to her home in order for you to eat and get some rest. They practically had to force feed you from what I’ve heard. I thought when I first woke up that we had fixed that issue.”

“We did, but once you started to have more problems pop up I slipped back. Can you blame me? I didn’t have an appetite anymore and when I slept it was never good sleep. I’d dream about you dying or you falling into Ardyn’s hands and him doing terrible things to you. I didn’t want to leave your side for even a second. I even took small naps in the hospital bed next to yours from time to time.”

“Yes and I’m aware of how upset you would get when Prompto let you sleep for too long. Of course it was on purpose on his part. He knew you wouldn’t willingly sleep that long on your own. He’s told me that he found you quite often dozing off in the chair next to my bed holding my hand. That was very sweet of you.”

He felt Gladio kiss his forehead making him smile.

“What can I say I love you too damn much that I didn’t want to let you go.”

Hearing those words for some reason caught him off guard. The thought of Gladio ever letting go of him or losing him caused fat tears to pop up in his eyes. He had always loved Gladio with all of his heart since the time Gladio first began to flirt with him when they were tweens. Little did Gladio know that he had a crush on Gladio first and was just playing hard to get in the beginning. Gladio meant everything to him. He had already had to say goodbye to Noctis he couldn’t imagine having to say goodbye to Gladio as well. Sniffling he said from the bottom of his heart

“Thank you Gladio for loving me. You have no idea how much I appreciate your love and I haven’t the foggiest idea what I’d do without you. You mean the world to me and I don’t deserve you.”

He was trying his best to not get over emotional, but it wasn’t working. Fat hot tears were rolling down his face landing on Gladio’s arm. 

“Shh. Shh. Hey, Iggy it’s ok I’m not going anywhere. I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you. You’re smart, kind, and handsome. You’re the hardest worker I’ve ever seen, the most devoted person I know, and have the purest loving soul I’ve ever met. You have a smile that could power all of Lestallum and you are a real gift to this world. I nearly abandoned you for three months, if anyone doesn’t deserve the love of someone as beautiful both inside and out as you it’s me. I’m just a thickheaded brut.”

Cupping Gladio’s face he tenderly kissed him.

“You may act tough on the outside, but inside you are one of the kindest and most caring people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. You have a way of making people feel safe and are super protective of the ones you love. You would take down anyone who threatened those very people and would always be by their side. You’re passionate and state what’s on your mind, both being rare and beautiful qualities to have. And if my smile could power all of Lestallum then your smile could rival the sun. It is one of the things I miss seeing most. I could go on for days about the many good qualities you have and how you are not just a thickheaded brut, but so much more. So that’s enough of that talk. You’re going to get loved by me whether you like it or not so get used to it.” 

He could tell Gladio was smiling as he said

“Yes sir. Same goes for you.”

He felt Gladio gently place a hand under his chin then felt his warm soft lips on his. Just as the kiss was about to deepen he suddenly heard a crash in the kitchen and Prompto trying to say quietly

“Damn it! Not another plate! Ignis is gonna kill me.”

The smell of something starting to burn wafted into their room as well. He then heard Gladio chuckled 

“Sounds like Prompto’s trying to cook again. Some days I don’t know how that kid has survived these past 10 years.”

“I guess that’s my cue to get out of bed and check up on him.”

As he sat up Gladio’s strong arms pulled him back down.

“Gladio.”

He said in a semiserious voice.

“Do you have to check on him? He’s a big boy he can handle it himself.”

“Didn’t you just question how he has survived these past 10 years?”

“I don’t know it’s all fuzzy to me.”

Ignis chuckled gleefully and replied

“Come come Gladio. We’ve been holed up in here for two days and have barely eaten anything. I know you’ve got to be starving by now.”

As if on cue he heard Gladio’s stomach growl loudly. Next he heard Gladio whisper with a frown clearly on his face.

“Shut up stomach.”

“See, it’s time we left our nest and joined the real world once again. Also we are long overdue for a shower. We’re sticky and reek of sweat and cum.”

He heard Gladio smell himself and gag a little. Gladio in a pouting voice replied

“Yeah I guess you’re right.”

Smiling he replied

“Don’t pout. There will be many more days like the past two. We can’t run away from the world and our responsibilities forever.”

He kissed Gladio tenderly then sat back up Gladio releasing him. 

“Come on Gladio, I may need your help.”

He got out of bed slowly testing the strength in his legs. He was wobbly, but he could manage. As he began to look for something to wear he heard Gladio get out of bed and start sifting through a dresser draw. Suddenly he felt something made of cotton land on his head with Gladio saying 

“Wear that.”

Pulling it off of his head he realized it was one of Gladio’s oversized shirts.

“I can’t just wear this. I don’t want to make Prompto uncomfortable.”

“Come on Iggy he’s seen and heard way more uncomfortable things during our road trip days. Seeing you in one of my shirts will be nothing to him.”

Sighing he replied

“I guess you right.” 

He heard Gladio digging in a drawer again then walk over and hold something out to him.

“Here wear some boxers too. You um, you’ve got cum running down your leg. You don’t want to leave a snow trail behind you or in a seat.”

Embarrassment washed over him and he felt himself turn bright red. Clearing his throat he snatched the boxes from Gladio’s hand and replied curtly

“Right. Thank you.”

He quickly put the boxers on as he heard Gladio slip some sweat pants on. Next he found his new pair of glasses and slipped them on. His old pair that he had worn after what happened in Altissia had broken in that last hunt. Gladio had tried his best to keep them safe and returned them to him, but once they fought the demons that last time they fell apart. As a surprise to cheer him up Gladio gave him a new pair that he stated had been a birthday present he wasn’t able to give him before everything went downhill. Despite not being able to see them he liked the feel of them and because they were from Gladio they made him happy. For some reason wearing glasses even though they were of no use to him anymore made him feel safe and comfortable. It was after that thought that he felt Gladio loop his arm around his own and ask

“Ready to go?”

“Lead the way.”

Securing his arm around Gladio’s they slowly made their way to the door.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

As he and Gladio entered the kitchen he heard a lot of shuffling and rushing then Gladio ask

“What the hell is going on?”

He heard Prompto say in a rushed voice

“Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to make such a mess. I was just trying to make you guys some breakfast. You have to be starving after being locked away in your room for two days doing – stuff. ”

He then heard Prompto trip causing him to run into the table and fall with a loud

“Ow!”

Sighing he was about to take a step forward when Prompto started to freak out and shout

“Iggy stop Stop Stop!!! There is a broken plate right in front of you! If you step forward you’ll cut your foot!”

It was then the smoke alarm began to sound. He heard Prompto jump to his feet and yell

“No!! Not the pancakes!!!”

Noises of panic filled the air. Sighing he asked trying to remain calm

“Gladio can you please describe to me what you see.”

“Sure. It appears that Prompto was trying to make us pancakes, eggs, and bacon, but somehow he got flour everywhere. And when I say everywhere I mean everywhere. The bacon is on the floor, the ceiling fan, and on that vase of new lilies I just bought for you. There is what appears to be a plate full of several cooked eggs on the table that were once edible, but are now covered in flour. They also appear to have what looks like a handprint in them. The fridge is wide open with several cans of your Ebony scattered in front of it. One of the cans broke open and sprayed everywhere including on the cabinets. Oh and the pancakes he was just cooking are on fire.”

Sighing deeply Ignis asked

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. Prompto is on fire.”

It was then that he heard Prompto scream

“NOT MY HAIR!”

“And so is your favorite apron. The one that Noct gave you with the limited edition Ebony logo on it.”

He felt a twinge of anger surge through him making him want to beat the living daylights out of Prompto, but he took a deep breath and composed himself. 

“Alright first Prompto: STOP, DROP, AND ROLL!”

He heard Prompto do just that then yell

“It’s not working!!”

“Gladio stick his head under the faucet then dump the whole frying pan and my apron in the sink. We must do this before the sprinkler system goes off. Open a window afterwards to let the smoke out.”

“On it.”

He heard Gladio quickly turn on the sink then help Prompto up and shove his head under the running water. Perhaps holding his head under the running water for a few seconds too long. Next, he heard the fluttering of his apron being placed in the sink along with the frying pan full of burning pancakes that now smelled like a campfire. Clearing his throat he issued out more orders.

“Prompto now that you’re no longer on fire get a broom, dustpan, bucket, and a mop. Fill the bucket with soap and hot water then clean up the floor and this plate. Afterwards get some paper towel and clean up the table. Once the plate is cleaned up I shall take care of the Ebony.”

“Yes sir! Got it!”

He then heard Prompto run to the broom closet and grab the supplies he needed. He quickly crouched down in front of him and began to clean up the plate. He could also hear Gladio fanning the fire alarm making it stop then move on to open a window. Knowing that he was almost done he commanded

“Gladio pick up the bacon and rinse it off. Also sift through the eggs and rinse off the ones that are salvageable. We are not going to waste food, but if it doesn’t look like it can be saved throw it away.”

“Right.”

“I will take care of the Ebony and some how salvage the food and make something out of it. I have worked in far worse conditions so it can be done.”

He felt Prompto grab his hand then say.

“I almost have the plate cleaned, but there are several small pieces on the floor so don’t move yet.”

He suddenly heard Gladio stop what he was doing and move towards him. He felt him grab him around the waist and pick him up moving him away from the plate.

“Here you go problem solved. You’re right next to the fridge so be careful not to slip.”

“Thank you.”

Tying his shirt up to his waist he opened one of the Ebonys in the fridge, took a few swigs of liquid courage, then got started on cleaning up the mess. The whole kitchen took about an hour to clean since the Ebony and flour had gotten everywhere. It took him another hour to do what he could with the pancake batter that was still left as well as the eggs and bacon. 

While the food was cooking he ordered Prompto to take a shower. Based on how Gladio described him he was covered in flour from head to toe. By the time Prompto was done in the shower the food was ready and like he always did Prompto set the table. As they sat down to eat Gladio handed Ignis another Ebony and said. 

“Well it’s finally all clean and the food looks great as always, but I almost wish the sprinklers had gone off. It would’ve been a mess to clean up, but I would finally know if they worked or not.”

Ignis sighed and stated

“It’s another one of those overprotective features you’ve added to the apartment. I appreciate it, but it’s seems a tad bit much.”

“Hey my overprotectiveness is one of the things you said was a positive about me. There was no way in hell I was going to leave you in this apartment without having those sprinklers installed. I don’t want to even imagine if this place caught on fire and you couldn’t get out. With the sprinklers I wouldn’t have to worry about that. After witnessing what happened today we both know this Chocobo brain could set the place on fire at any time.”

“Hey!”

He heard Prompto squeak in defense, but not denying it. Laughing, but trying not to hurt Prompto’s feelings he said

“It’s alright Prompto I know that you didn’t make a mess or set the place on fire on purpose. Accidents happen. We were able to clean up the mess and salvage the food. The eggs you made were cooked very well, so don’t be afraid to cook again, just be more careful next time.”

“I’m sorry for being so clumsy. I’ll try harder next time.”

“It’s the thought that counts. Anyway, lets dig in before the food gets cold.”

He heard Gladio clap his hands and said

“Now we’re talking! I’m starving!”

They had worked up quite an appetite cleaning and quickly devoured the food. He and Gladio were so hungry that they barely talked through the meal, but surprisingly Prompto didn’t interrupt them and just let them eat. As they were finishing up Prompto asked

“Hey Gladio are the plans for tonight still a thing?”

Ignis heard silence then Gladio say

“Oh yeah. What time is it all coming together? Is everything setup?”

“Ah, it starts at 6pm so in 6 hours. Iris and several others helped me setup all day yesterday while you guys were – unavailable.”

Ignis was confused and asked.

“What plans? What on earth are the two of you talking about.”

Hearing Gladio shift in his seat he finally said

“Oh its just a bunch of hunters and our friends are coming back into town so we planned a dinner night with them.”

“Oh, well why wasn’t I informed of this event?”

“Sorry it kinda slipped my mind. I’ve been kinda busy the last two days.”

He felt himself blush recalling all of what they had been doing the last two days and cleared his throat.

“Ah, I completely understand. Well so dinner is at 6. Where at?”

Prompto spoke up

“Oh it’s at HQ. It’s a pretty big place and it made sense to have it there.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow confused as to why they would have it there, but decided to drop it. He heard Gladio shift again and then ask.

“Hey Iggy since it’s six hours away after we get cleaned up do you want to spend the day together? You know like a date.”

Surprise and happiness filled his chest. They hadn’t gone on a real date in years. 

“Sounds delightful. I can’t recall the last date we went on.”

“I can’t either so I guess it’s time for one.” 

He suddenly heard the sound of dishes clamoring around the table with Prompto saying. 

“I’ll take care of the dishes. It’s the least I can do after the mess I made. You guys go clean up you reek.”

Once again Ignis found himself blushing, but heard Gladio chuckle and say

“Yeah you’re right. Come on Iggy to the shower we go.”

He felt Gladio’s hand under his upper left arm. As he began to stand he had to stop for a moment. Pain was surging through his lower back.

“What’s wrong?”

He heard Gladio ask, but then it dawned on him.

“It’s your back isn’t it?”

“Yes. I didn’t realize how sore I was until now. I guess my body finally relaxed enough while sitting here to receive pain.”

“Can you stand?”

“Yes, just give me a moment.”

He heard Prompto snicker and responded

“Not a word Prompto.”

“Hey, no worries. You won’t hear anything from me since I’m not the one who just spent the last two days having hot. passionate. sex.”

He noticed how Prompto put extra emphasis on the last three words. Prompto spoke again.

“Hey for dessert do you guys want some passion fruit with whipped cream? Or maybe you’re still hungry and want some egg bend-a-dick. OR maybe you just want some extra thick n’ juicy wieners with a side of mayo!”

He could hear Prompto laughing his ass off. Annoyed all he said in a dark tone was 

“Gladio.”

“That’s it Prompto! Come here shortcake! I hope you’re ready for a headlock!”

“Don’t call me shortcake!”

He heard Prompto squeal and drop the dish sponge as he tried to escape Gladio to no avail.

“Ok I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Just don’t touch my hair!”

“Well that’s too bad you’re getting a nooggy too! ”

“NOOOOOOOO!”

The next thing he heard was Prompto yelling as he struggled

“UNCLE! UNCLE!”

Bringing him a chuckle Ignis finally stood up all the way. Just as he did he heard Gladio release Prompto and say

“I hope you learned a lesson, but knowing you you’ll probably do it again.”

“Ow dude that hurt! I better not go bald because of you! But you’re right I probably will do it again. I just can’t help myself because I’m so punny!”

He heard Gladio walk over to him and grab his arm again.

“Come on Iggy, you better soak in the bath for awhile. I’ll get you some painkillers too.”

“Sounds heavenly.”

As they made their way to the bathroom Gladio asked

“Even with your back hurting do you still want to go on our date?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Once I get some painkillers in me and soak in some hot water for awhile I’ll be just fine.”

Entering the bathroom Gladio gave Ignis a defeated look and said

“I’m sorry I guess I over did it again.”

“I didn’t tell you to stop now did I? I was enjoying our romp in the sheets as much as you did. Don’t feel bad about my back, it will be as good as new soon enough.”

To reassure Gladio that he was alright Ignis pulled him closer and gave him a tender kiss. He could tell Gladio was a bit surprised, but happy about it nonetheless. When their lips parted Ignis asked

“Will you get the painkillers while I get the water running?”

“Sure thing.”

From there Ignis took some painkillers and both hopped in the shower then the bath for a soak. The soak helped Ignis’s back immensely and after some small talk they got ready for their date.


	13. CHAPTER 13: A MESSAGE

Their date was a nice change of pace after all the difficult things they had been through recently. They casually strolled through the market place hand in hand in no rush and just enjoyed each other’s company. They occasionally stopped to get some treats, split an ice cream cone, and talked about anything and everything. They even stopped at the Cup Noodle stand so Gladio could get a hot Cup Noodle with his favorite toppings. Towards the end of the date they found themselves on a bench that had a great view of the Disc of Cauthess. Gladio had an arm around Ignis’s shoulders and they were just enjoying their alone time. Gladio chuckled and said

“This is great! No worries, no responsibilities, no demons to slay – it’s just us. We need to do this more often.”

Ignis leaned his head into Gladio’s shoulder

“Yes, this is rather enjoyable. Rarely do we have down time to ourselves. There is always another hunt to go on, another demon to slay. It seems that it’s never ending thanks to Ardyn and what he’s done with the world.”

“Pssh that guy can go suck a giant dick. I can’t wait until he’s gone.”

“I second that, but for now it’s nice to not be rushed and just have fun together like we used too. We haven’t had a date like this in what feels like a millennia.”

“Well for once we don’t have a prince to watch over. We couldn’t go on many dates during our road trip days especially if we were camping. It was too risky to leave him with just Prompto.”

“True, but once we got into some of the smaller towns and even here in Lestallum he was pretty safe. He and Prompto went on many dates just as we did. The Magitek soldiers could never find us in those towns.”

“Ha yeah and that’s why most of our dates ended with sex because we didn’t have to babysit them. Whether it was in the hotel room or a back alley we had a lot of crazy sex in all sorts of places.”

A laugh escaped his lips remembering many of those dates.

“Well alone time was hard to come by when you have a royal prince on the run. I’m sure Noct and Prompto enjoyed their alone time together as well. We certainly walked in on them a handful of times.”

He felt Gladio let out a deep laugh.

“Hell yeah we did! I’ve never seen two people turn 15 shades of red so quickly. After they walked in on us a few times that’s when it became a rule to knock first before entering the hotel room.”

“However you didn’t care if they saw us and kept plowing away. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment on several occassions.”

“Ha come on you were way to occupied with me to pay much attention to them.”

He felt Gladio kiss his temple. 

“I suppose you’re right, but for the few seconds they always saw us it was rather embarrassing.”

“But you have to admit that it was kind of thrilling being caught or trying not to get caught. It makes me think of our dates when we were teens. We always had to sneak out of the palace to go on our dates after Noct went to bed. Sure we had some dates during the day, but with our royal duties to deal with we couldn’t get out much. Many of those dates ended with sex too haha.”

Ignis felt himself laugh

“Yes there were many times even during or after school that you would pull me into some broom closet or crawl space to knock boots. We were quite active back then.”

“Back then? We still are, we just don’t have as much time together anymore is all.”

“And I’m afraid once Noct returns things are going to get even more dicey so we will have even less moments like this together.”

He felt Gladio’s arm tighten around his shoulders and his head lean against his. Unsure of when he would get another moment like this with Gladio he nestled into him enjoying this tender and quiet time together. After several quiet minutes of just enjoying each he felt Gladio pull out his phone and look at it.

“It’s time to head to the party.”

Sighing

“Must we go?”

Gladio chuckled

“Yes. I think you’ll have a good time. Come on.”

Gladio stood up first and helped him to his feet, but then to Ignis’s surprise pulled him into a hug and kissed him deeply. When the kiss was over he could barely breath, his knees were weak, and he felt dizzy. Raising an eyebrow he asked

“Not that I didn’t enjoy that, but what was it for.”

He felt Gladio place his forehead against his and say sweetly

“Just because I wanted to. Thanks for going on a date with me Iggy it was a lot of fun.”

“You’re welcome. We should have another one soon.”

“Count on it.”

Gladio then pulled him into a short tender kiss. Afterwards Gladio grabbed his hand in his and led the way to the party.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

When they arrived, Ignis couldn’t believe how many people were jam packed into HQ. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but he was starting to feel like he was. He gripped Gladio’s hand tighter who squeezed his hand back in reassurance as they made their way through the crowd. 

“Why are there so many people here? Is this really just a dinner party?!”

He felt Gladio come to a stop and say very happily 

“Nope this is your birthday party.”

Flabbergasted he barely got out

“My birthday…”

He suddenly felt someone quickly hug him and say 

“SURPRISE! Happy birthday Iggy!”

Realizing it was Prompto he said in shock

“Thank you Prompto.”

It was then that he heard Gladio shout

“HEY EVERYONE THE BIRTHDAY BOY IS HERE!”

Suddenly the whole room, like a mighty lion’s roar, filled with

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY IGNIS!!”

Prompto then said 

“Everyone’s here to celebrate! Talcott, Cindy, Cid, Cor, Dave, Monica, Iris, Aranea and so many more! They all came out just to celebrate your birthday and you getting better!”

He then heard Iris say

“We even made some of your favorite dishes including your favorite cake.”

Prompto adding

“Don’t worry Iris and Monica did most of the cooking I just helped a little and setup decorations.”

All at once he was feeling so many different emotions: overwhelmed, excited, nervous, but overall so SO happy. As these emotions settled in he felt Gladio squeeze his hand and say

“We tried to do this on your actual birthday, but you know how much of a disaster that day turned out to be. Sorry it’s so late.”

All the emotions culminated at once and all he could do was bury his head in Gladio’s shoulder as tears of joy came streaming down his face. In a very strained, but happy voice he got out

“Thank you – all of you from the very bottom of my heart.”

Gladio grabbed him up in a hug and kissed the top of his head.

“You’re welcome Iggy.”

Prompto then shouted

“LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!”

Someone then turned up the music making everyone excited. Ignis quickly dried his tears and was delighted as several people came by to pat him on the back and wish him a happy birthday. Throughout the whole night he was given well wishes and enjoyed several conversations with some of his favorite people. Gladio and Prompto made sure he got several helpings of his favorite dishes and even allowed himself to be dragged out onto the dance floor after much persistence from Gladio. He did rather enjoy dancing but he wasn’t going to let Gladio know that. For the first time in a long time he was able to let his guard down and just enjoy himself. What was clearly his favorite part was when they brought out his cake, gathered around him, and sang happy birthday. Being surrounded by so many of his loved ones filled his heart to the brim with love and happiness. The only thing that would have made the night even better was if his little prince had been there. As the night was coming to a close he found himself slow dancing with Gladio. He was enjoying how his head fit perfectly under Gladio’s chin and how nice it felt to have their arms wrapped around each other as they gently swayed to slow music. Quietly he said

“The morning of my birthday all makes sense to me now. How you had Prompto keeping me busy and you went to Iris’s to discuss “something”. I suspected something was up, but I never would have guessed this was in the works.”

“See I can be sly still from time to time. Too bad it didn’t work out on your actual birthday.”

“Well it’s the thought that counts and it worked out perfectly today so what does it matter if it isn’t really my birthday. All is well that ends well.”

“I guess you’re right. More people were even able to stop by this time too. Even Levi and Ren made an appearance.”

“They’re a funny couple aren’t they?”

“Levi maybe a little rough on him and way to overprotective, but he means well.”

“Yes, it’s quite obvious that they love each other deeply. It’s funny how people come together sometimes. How fate brings them together.”

“Well I’m glad it brought me you. Again, happy birthday Iggy.”

“Thank you love.”

They stopped dancing for a moment and embraced in a tender kiss. As the kiss ended he three sets of footsteps approaching them and Cor say

“Kissing and dancing together in public? Are you sure you’re feeling alright Ignis?”

As he and Gladio let go of each other and went back to handholding he answered

“Ah yes Marshal I’m feeling right as rain.”

Cor clapped him on the shoulder 

“Good to hear.”

He then heard Aranea say

“Glad to see you’re not dead.”

He laughed

“Tactful as ever I see. Thank you.”

Cindy then added

“I’m glad to see you’re doing so much better sug. You had us scared half to death. Paw-paw and I just knew you’d pull through somehow.”

Gladio chuckled

“Yeah he’s too stubborn to kick the bucket.”

Smiling Ignis replied

“Well I wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for all the support and phone calls I received from all of you. I especially can’t thank Glaido and Prompto enough for being ever at my side.”

He felt someone throw their arm around his shoulder, but guessed instantly that it was Prompto.

“Aw you’re welcome buddy. We know you’d do the same for us any day. In fact, you’ve nursed Noct and the two of us back to health several times through the years. We simply don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Gladio adding

“You can say that again.”

“Oh hey does anyone want anymore cake? It’s almost gone.”

As the others gave their various answers Ignis thought he heard something strange coming from outside. It wasn’t until Prompto tugged on his sleeve that he heard what he said

“Iggy?”

“I’m sorry Prompto what did you say?

“I asked if you wanted any cake. Is everything ok?”

He felt Gladio squeeze his hand and ask

“What is it? 

Finally he asked 

“Does anyone else hear a dog barking?”

They all went silent and then heard several barks. Gladio being the first to speak

“It’s coming from outside. Come on, this way.”

He felt Gladio tug on his hand and he and the others followed him to the door. Once outside he heard Prompto say

“It’s Umbra! He’s in the middle of the street.”

He heard Prompto run up to Umbra and say 

“Hey there boy long time no see. What’s up?”

Suddenly Prompto went silent. After a minute or so Ignis asked

“Prompto what is it? What’s the matter?”

Gladio then stated 

“It looks like Umbra brought us a message.”

“A message?! Does that mean-”

“Yeah I think it does.”

He heard Prompto walk back over to them and sniffle loudly. Next he heard him giggle then happily say

“Umbra brought us a message that Noct is coming back in 1 week!! It said he’ll arrive at Galdin Quay and we have to meet him in Hammerhead.”

Then at the top of his lungs Prompto shouted

“NOCTIS IS COMING BACK!!”

A large smile came across Ignis’s face from the news and because this was the happiest he had heard Prompto be in the last 10 years. Prompto was practically a ball of sunshine burning so bright that even he could almost see him shining. He himself was feeling absolutely overjoyed and was brought back down from the stars when Gladio said

“I guess we better start packing. We better dig up those Kingsglaive uniforms too. Hopefully they still fit.”

“Yes and we should probably have someone pick Noct up from Galdin. I’m afraid he has no idea what’s going on in the world and is about to have a rude awakening.”

Cor added

“Don’t worry about that I’ll tell everyone else and see who is available to pick him up.

Aranea throwing her two cents in

“Wow so pretty boy is finally coming back. He sure took his precious time.”

Cindy adding 

“Well well, the prince is on his way. I’m so happy for you boys. I’m gonna go inside and tell the others.”

Then it was just the three of them. He could tell Prompto was still on cloud nine and was talking a mile a minute to himself while pacing the street.

“I need to find my camera and I better charge it’s battery. Oh! I wonder if he’ll want to go fishing?! Not that fishing in the dark is very fun and there are hordes of demons lurking around like every fishing spot we used to go to. Maybe we should make him some of his favorite snacks! He has to be starving after being in a crystal for 10 years!”

“Prompto.”

Ignis said trying to get his attention, but it was like talking to a wall.

“Oh! Oh! We also have to find the tent and all our camping supplies! I bet it’s all covered in dust, I know I haven’t used it. He probably needs some clean undies too! He’s been in the same pair for 10 years! That’s so gross!’

He tried one more time

“Prompto.”

Still he was ignored

“Oh man we get to go back to Insomnia!! I wonder if my home is still there? Oh and our high school too! Ugh Ardyn is gonna be there! Gross! I can’t wait to see Noct kick his ass! I should take pics of Noct kicking his ass!!! Then we can remember it forever and look back on those pics when we are old, pruney, stinky, and gross! I hope we don’t become old cat people. I like cats, but I like dogs more. GASP! What if when Noct takes the throne he has to marry a girl and we can’t be together! I can’t make babies! Oh no what am I gonna do!”

Sighing as Prompto continued to carry on Ignis looked up at Gladio and said 

“You try.”

“I got this.”

Sounding confident. He heard Gladio suck in a deep breath then yell

“PROMPTO WAKE UP!!”

He heard Prompto squeak and jump into the air, scared half to death. He and Gladio couldn’t help but laugh Gladio letting go of Ignis’s hand and doubling over. Finally Prompto asked

“What? What did I miss? We need to leave now!”

Grabbing Prompto’s shoulder Ignis said with a smile

“I know you’re excited to see Noct we all are, but you need to calm down. Hammerhead is a two-day trip so we need to be prepared and pack accordingly. We leave tomorrow.”

“WOO-WHO!”

He heard Prompto shout excitedly then say.

“He guys I’m gonna go back to the apartment now and start packing. I’ll see you soon!”

With that he heard Prompto take off running. He then heard Gladio say as he threw an arm around his shoulders

“Well I guess we better head that way too. I guess we won’t be staying up all night having sex again.”

Ignis chuckled

“I’m afraid not. My back could take it anyway.”

“Ah I’d let you be on top all night.”

“How kind of you, but it’s still a no.”

“That’s what I thought. We better go inside and say goodbye to everybody.”

“Yes, then tomorrow it’s off to Hammerhead. At long last Noctis is returning and we can move forward. Ardyn has been warming Noct’s seat for far too long – it’s time to take back the throne.”

“Yeah a major ass whooping is coming his way. I guess we won’t be waiting for our missing king much longer.”

“Indeed.”

Gladio pulled him closer and kissed his forehead.

“Come on Specs we’ve got a dethroning to plan.”

“Lead the way love.”

With new vigor and hope in their hearts he and Gladio made their way inside excited and ready for the new dawn to arrive.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ **EPILOGUE**

It was dark, chilly, and felt a little cramped. As he blinked he could see light coming in from the entry way of his prison. 

*bark bark*

A dog? I wonder if it’s Umbra.

As he stood he brushed his over grown bangs out of his eyes. Feeling his face he could feel his new and scraggily beard.

How long was I in the crystal for that I have a beard? It feels so weird. My hair feels longer too and less – spikey.”

*bark bark*

After hearing the dog bark again he made his way to the entrance of his prison and was greeted by a familiar face.

“Umbra.”

He said with a smile

“Do you got a message for me boy?”

He knelt down next to Umbra who excitedly wagged his tail and he carefully removed the message from Umbra’s back. Unraveling the message it read

Make your way to Galdin Quay. From there  
you will be escorted to Hammerhead where  
we eagerly await you. See you soon.  
-Ignis

Smiling Noctis pet Umbra’s head then stood up and stretched. 

“I guess I better head to Hammerhead and meet up with the guys. Man, it feels like it was just yesterday that I saw them, but I have a feeling it’s been awhile.”

Looking down at Umbra he said 

“Come on boy we better head to Galdin first.”

Umbra barked at him and led the way to his father’s boat. Once aboard with the engine running he took a deep breath and said

“I’m back and I’m on my way guys. It’s time to take back the throne.”

END

**Author's Note:**

> **Continued in Waiting for the Missing King Part 2**
> 
> Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed my fanfic. I adore Final Fantasy XV and those wonderful Chocobros so I loved writing this story. FFXV means a lot to me so I tried my best to stay true to the characters, but also tried to make them feel real and portray how people going through these situations would act and feel. Part 2 will primarily follow Noctis and Prompto and will conclude the story of the game picking up with Noctis reuniting with the bros in Hammerhead. So yes the 2nd half will primarily be a Promptis story. I wanted to write this story from both views of each couple because I adore both Gladnis and Promptis. Anyway, thank again for reading I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially what your favorite part was, but please remember to be kind.


End file.
